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Deer Park, WI

Hi Folks-

I've been using a testing platform called "Soil Microbiometer" for some time. It is a rapid, reliable way to assess microbial biomass in the soil. Ever wonder if all that compost, mycorrhizae, and manure is paying off in the form of soil biological activity? Well, we can measure that now. One can purchase an at-home test kit with 10 sample measures for $100.

Alternatively, I'm considering offering this as a service to my fellow giant pumpkin growers if there's interest. Rather than buying the full kit, I would perform the test on your behalf and send you the results. All you'd need to do is grab a small soil sample, mail it off, and wait patiently.

Have a look at their website https://microbiometer.com/ and see if its something you are interested in. lemme know if there's interest in having me perform the test on your behalf. As far as pricing goes, I'm thinking $30/sample ($10 for supplies, $20 for my time and effort).

12/28/2020 3:53:05 PM

Muddy Waters

Do these test results rather high or low ? Have any effect on disease pressure? Im assuming it would.Could it be used to reduce disease in soil?

12/28/2020 10:13:37 PM

Central Illinois

Can we see an example of what the results of the test will look like, a test the company has performed?

12/29/2020 7:14:51 AM

Alex, IN

I would be interested.

How does this test compare or contrast to the active carbon test. The Indiana CCA conference two weeks ago had 3 or 4 speakers talking about active carbon being a better test to perform instead of the normal OM test when discussing and analyzing soil health.

12/29/2020 7:16:28 AM

Ireland

Does this test measure levels of good vs levels of pathogenic organisms? If it just tells us we have high levels of microbial activity we could be equally culturing both good and bad bacteria, fungi, protozoa, amoeba etc.

This is a good idea but unless it differentiates between beneficial and pathogenic organisms it doesn't provide growers the information needed to take action to remedy the problem of either low levels of beneficial microbe activity or make amendments to reduce high levels of pathogenic microbes in their soil

12/29/2020 8:21:42 AM

Deer Park, WI

Bubba- I believe beneficial microbes can suppress soil born fungal pathogens. I am uncertain if this particular test's outcome offers any insight tied to disease management however.

Baitman- I can load a test sample to my diary...I dont have a current screen shot of one but will try to. In the mean time, the company's website does a good job explaining.

SmallTown: I've got a surface level understanding of active carbon/POXC...which appears to measure carbon available for microbes. I struggle in identifying usefulness of POXC as a way to manage for better soil. Whereas microbiometer looks for signatures of living organisms and can be a target one seeks to achieve.

Twinnie: you bring up a valid question. The test does not discern between beneficial/neutral/pathogenic microbes. (only searches for bacterial/fungal signatures, not protozoans or other families of critters). It is my understanding that in a sample of soil with a pathogen, the total volume of pathogenic microbes relative to the total volume of non-pathogenic microbes is small. One can certainly have a high count of, say, pythium in their soil, enough to cause disease, but its relative level as compared to other soil microorganisms may not be consequential. As such, this test may not need to discern pathogen vs non-pathogen and still has relevance.

12/29/2020 3:53:31 PM

Midway, UT

This sounds pretty interesting. Once you have the results, what do you look for and what actions have you taken in the past?

12/29/2020 5:29:58 PM

Muddy Waters

Thanks Joe

12/29/2020 6:45:44 PM

Deer Park, WI

Arvada- the lab has set numerical thresholds for what they believe to be sufficiently biologically active soil. Below the threshold, practices that introduce and support beneficial microbes are recommended. Cover cropping, addition of composts, and direct addition of beneficials can move the needle. Why test if we’re doing this already anyway? More isn’t always better. Further, theses amendments are expensive and most growers work on a budget. One could spend $100 on a biological or a watering system, but not both. If a test shows high biological presence, the watering system may be the wiser investment.

12/30/2020 7:07:48 AM

South Dakota

I guess like any test, it is a snapshot of that exact time it was taken. With other variables contributing to soil biology such as temp, moisture, OM, etc, Would just one test per year do it, or I would think several tests throughout the year would be required.

12/30/2020 8:23:18 AM

South Dakota

Joe, what have you observed as far as overwintering of micros? I put a lot of money into myco and azos last year, and was wondering if you have seen enough overwintering to not need to apply any more inoculant the following year?

12/30/2020 9:32:44 AM

Deer Park, WI

LJ- agree, it is a snapshot. The lab recommends sampling during the active growing season. That would be anything over 50 degree soil temp. Balancing the usefullness of repeated testing with practical economics, I feel one test per year seems reasonable until the desired outcome is achieved. Regarding overwintering of biologicals, this is an excellent question. Nature has obviously designed many microbes with the ability to persevere even in the most harsh environments, including the very mycorrhizae, Azospirillum, Bacillus, and Trichoderma included in the products we use. I have not personally observed delta in year to year observations because I too am only beginning my observations down this path. This summer was my first year of experience with the tool and I hope to vastly expand my knowledge base of which strategies work in various soil types by capturing and synthesizing information submitted by those interested in using the service. And there's my commitment to the rest of the pumpkin community. As with my publication of observations/research on soil fertility, I will also share my learnings on soil microbiology through the use of this service.

12/30/2020 10:02:58 AM

Ireland

Good point Joe.

I do think that we all know the saying, "theres more micro-organisms in a teaspoon of soil than people on earth". I wish you the best of luck trying to figure out the multifarious interactions across different genera, soil types and the pumpkins themselves.

It would be great to see correlation between soil fertility and levels of the many different bacterial and fungal families. Something like AMF the relationship between Phosphorous levels and AMF abundance.
Best of luck with the experiments!

12/30/2020 10:55:25 AM

Guelph, Ontario

For awhile, this was offered by some soil testing companies. It was considered to be one measure of soil health.

Amount of biomass does correlate with organic matter but no correlation with soil fertility has been found.

Good versus bad. beneficial versus pathogens are arbitrary concepts when it comes to microorganisms. They all have a function, as in have a certain nutrient food.Some microbes species do compete for food source with others using same food source. As as certain bio-chemical is used up, the microorganisms feeding on it die back and there is an increase in microorganisms using byproducts as a food.

Eventually the chemicals , in their complex forms, are broken down far enough that they can be absorbed and used by plants.

There are no good guys warring with bad guys in the soil. Pathogens feed off plants, they do not compete with the organisms feeding off the organic food in organic mater in soil.

Organic matter is not food for plants directly, but view it as a reserve that eventually gets broken down into nutrients that can be used by plants. At that point no different then non organic nutrients.

Organic matter also adds to texture of soil and water holding capacity and can also hold on to more nutrients as in increased CEC ( Cation exchange capacity) .

Soil companies are moving away from using binome testing as a measure of soil fertility. It is still being studied to se if more specific testing can give information of value to test.

12/30/2020 2:05:51 PM

Seattle, WA

What actionable information do you feel this test gives you? How does it inform and change the way your manage your patch?

12/30/2020 4:33:38 PM

South Dakota

For 30.00 bucks, I would be interested to have this analysis done on my patch.

12/30/2020 4:36:58 PM