Expert insights on improving soil health, controlling nematodes and enhancing the profitability of your harvested crops.
Read our top picks on nematodes and soil health.
Lurking under your soil are plant-parasitic nematodes devouring your crop roots.
Identify the threats
Understanding the soil supporting your crops is key to a successful future for your farm.
Learn the layersWhat does healthy soil look like, and how can fruit, vegetable, citrus and other farmers cultivate it? These tips on nematode management can help you elevate harvests today and preserve soil for tomorrow.
Browse LibrarySoil health drives plant growth, and ultimately yield and profitability. Get the information you need to increase soil productivity and improve sustainability.
Soil holds the secrets to keeping your roots and your crop healthy. To help ensure your soil supports a plentiful harvest year after year, you will benefit from a clear understanding of the actions you can take to keep it a productive resource.
Soil is a living and active part of your farm, and it contains a variety of beneficial organisms including nematodes, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, macro- and micro-arthropods.
These organisms respond sensitively to land management practices you implement on your farm, so it’s very important to be selective in how you manage farm inputs such as nematicides. When these products are not selective, they have the potential to disrupt the symbiotic relationships among these organisms and crop roots.
Thankfully, you can proactively implement informed farming practices that have minimal impact on beneficial organisms that exist in the soil.
Crops draw nutrients from the soil through their roots. The roots in turn, release food that sustains the beneficial organisms in the soil. This is how the soil food web works.
However, roots are not immune to threats. A variety of factors can destroy roots. One of the least understood threats is harmful or bad nematodes, which are microscopic and invisible to the naked eye but have the power to ravage a crop and cause significant yield loss. Control of harmful nematodes is essential to keeping your crops healthy.
Beneficial nematodes promote natural fertility and quality over time. They feed on bacteria, fungi, insects, or bad nematodes in the soil, stimulating soil nutrient cycles, and keeping populations of damaging plant pests and diseases at bay.
Therefore, it is crucial to adopt farm management tools that work in harmony with the beneficial nematodes.
A healthy soil is the foundation of crop productivity and sustainability. And every season, we have the opportunity to take actions that help improve soil health, promoting good crop yields and long-term soil sustainability.
Farmers can take several actions to preserve and promote the health of their soils, including:
Healthy soil equals an ecosystem where all life can thrive. It promotes healthy crops and abundant yields for years.
A simple shift from merely managing the soil to proactively advancing soil health and recognizing the greater role it plays in benefiting farmland and the planet can create long-term value. As farmers you can take action today to leave behind a legacy for the future.
Doran, John W. and Zeiss, Michael R. (2000). Soil health and sustainability: managing the biotic component of soil quality. Applied Soil Ecology 15, 3-11. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/agronomyfacpub/15/
Tell us what you know and what you want to know about nematode management by answering 5 questions. We'll use your feedback to deliver the content you need.
Subscribe to receive timely agronomic, crop protection and product insights customized to your needs.
Sign Up Now
