Soil health – Pests and diseases

Why is it Important

Experienced farmers across the world will agree that if well taken care of, soil is a gift that keeps on giving.

• Sustainable Agriculture: Prioritizing soil health is a step toward sustainable agriculture, ensuring long-term productivity and environmental stability.

• Plant Growth: By maintaining a balanced soil ecosystem, farmers can create optimal conditions for plant growth and productivity.

• Maximizing Yields and ROI: A healthy soil not only supports plant growth but also maximizes yields and return on investment for farmers.

• Long-term Benefits: Soil health is an investment that yields long-term benefits, ensuring business continuity and sustainability for future generations.

Why is Soil Called a Living Ecosystem?

Soil is considered a living ecosystem because it is home to a wide variety of life forms, including bacteria, fungi, and protozoa, which play crucial roles in improving and maintaining soil health by breaking down organic matter and converting it into nutrients that are recycled and made available for plant growth.

Microbial Benefits:

• Improves soil health, fertility and structure
• Strengthens the root system
• Aids in nutrient absorption and uptake by plants
• Some microbes protect plants from soil-borne diseases and harmful pathogens

Nematodes

It’s impossible to talk about soil-borne diseases without mentioning nematodes. These tiny, invertebrate worms are found all around us — in soil, water, plants, and even inside animals and human bodies. While some nematodes are beneficial, others can cause immense harm to our soil and plants.

You’d be surprised to learn that just one scoop of soil can contain millions of nematodes. However, not all nematodes are microscopic, they may vary in size—some can grow up to 26 feet long and one inch wide.

Plant-parasitic Nematodes 

• Root-knot nematodes, Cyst nematodes, Root lesion nematodes, Burrowing nematode, Pine wilt nematode, Reniform nematode are a few examples of plant-prasitic nematodes.
• Harmful species that can trigger a range of plant diseases, deformities, and other health issues that can be difficult to detect and treat.
•  These nematodes live either inside plant tissues (endoparasites) or in the soil surrounding the plant (ectoparasites).

How Do Plant-Parasitic Nematodes Affect Plants?

Despite their small size, Plant-parasitic nematodes are capable of multiplying rapidly. They can often lead to visible damage such as:

• Root Diseases: Appearance of abnormal growths, lesions and cysts on roots, affecting root development and interrupting nutrient and water uptake.
• Wilting leaves: Unexplained wilting or yellowing of leaves often indicates the plant is under stress, likely due to the presence of harmful nematodes.
• Stunted Plant Growth: A compromised metabolism limits natural plant growth and weakens their ability to resist diseases and stress.

Which Crops or Regions are Most Affected?

Nematodes prefer sandy soils and areas with movement, but they can still be a problem in loam or clay soils. Typically, we do see more issues in areas with less crop rotation. Poor soil, growing the same crop year after year, and sandy soils are signs of potential nematode issues. In areas with limited crop rotation, common row crops affected by nematodes include cotton and soybeans, while popular horticulture crops like strawberries, melons, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and vines are also at risk.

Control Measures

There are several approaches to controlling plant-parasitic nematodes, including cultural, biological, and chemical methods. In many cases, a combination of these strategies is used to effectively manage nematode infestations. 

• Cultural Methods
  • Practice crop rotation to lower nematode populations.
  • Regularly clean tools and equipment to avoid cross-field contamination.
• Biological Control
  • Introduce and accelerate the populations of  beneficial nematodes and microbes that attack harmful ones.
• Chemical Control
  • Soil fumigants and nematicides can quickly eliminate nematodes but may harm the environment.

What’s an Effective Alternative?

• Adopting a sustainable approach to soil and crop protection is the most effective approach for combating plant-parasitic nematodes. This includes utilizing cultural practices (such as crop rotation) with biological methods.  Many farmers in the United States and across the world are already benefiting by switching to advanced, sustainable products and technologies that deliver lasting results.
• Opt for a safer and more efficient solution for managing nematodes. To support this, Huma® offers Promax®, an OMRI-listed, thyme oil-based solution that has been tested in multiple field trials, showing great ability in controlling nematode populations and improving yields. Safe for both humans and animals, Promax® can be applied up to the day of harvest. 
• Huma also offers Zap®, a soil health booster which feeds the beneficial microbes to help combat the plant parasitic nematodes as well as the soil borne pathogens not by a contact kill like Promax®, but through competitive exclusion. Zap® boosts the microbiology that feeds on and kills the pathogens and plant parasitic nematodes. This is why to enhance the effectiveness and longevity of Promax®, always apply Zap® (2 to 4 qt/ac) 2-3 weeks after applying Promax®. Zap® can be a stand alone product when levels of pressure are low to moderate. When in severe and high levels of pressure, please use both Promax and Zap®. 

Notes: Generally, applying Promax® (2 to 4 QT/acre) before planting and throughout the growing season is recommended to maximize the impact.