by Deac Jones | Sep 7, 2022 | News
This current heat wave has put considerable stress on our crops. Under stress, crops become less efficient in processing nutrients as their metabolism (photosynthesis, respiration, and the synthesis and degradation of organic compounds) slows down.
Higher nighttime temperatures are especially concerning. It has been known since 1939 (Laude, et al.) that plants’ response to heat stress fluctuates between day and night – if you apply heat stress to a plant during the middle of the day, it is much more likely to survive than if you applied the same heat stress at night. Plants’ daily cycle of heat resistance is a strategy that protects plants from the hottest parts of the day while saving energy at night.
by Deac Jones | Aug 16, 2022 | News
There is a debate whether synthetic fertilizers impact soil biology in a negative way. I think it’s a discussion worth having but it doesn’t tell the real story that needs to be made clear. In defense of synthetic fertilizers, 48% of the human population would not exist today without chemical fertilizers. It defeated hunger in the world. It has become the standard of agriculture for the last 70 years, brought about by nitrogen production for weapons used in WWI and WWII.
by Deac Jones | Aug 1, 2022 | News
Lignin is made up of carbon-based aromatic rings with various side chains found in the hard secondary cell walls of vascular plants. Soil organic matter (SOM) stores carbon in complex compounds like lignin, and releases carbon as CO2, primarily through microbial decomposition but also through abiotic factors.
The problem with lignin is that it takes time to break down and become useful in a soil environment or profile. In a wooden match burning, the lignocellulosic structure of the wood breaks down quickly into vapors comprised of phenols, carbon, and organic acids which are immediately lost to the atmosphere in the burning process when exposed to air.
by Deac Jones | Apr 27, 2022 | News
Pesticides encompass herbicides, insecticides and fungicides. They’re chemical compounds designed to kill, each with their own targets and modes of action. As little as 0.1 percent of an applied pesticide interacts with its targeted weed or pest. The remainder contaminates the soil, air and water and can cause significant collateral damage throughout the ecosystem. Pesticides can undercut regenerative agriculture goals by harming soil communities and altering critical biochemical processes in the soil. By disrupting soil communities, pesticides can cause significant changes in the composition, diversity and basic functioning of important soil microflora.
by Deac Jones | Mar 29, 2022 | News
As we go into our second year of drought, we need to look back at some of the lessons we learned from the 2012-2016 California drought so we can come out of this thing successfully. Droughts in California can be long and uncertain but, like all forms of disaster, preparation greatly diminishes drought losses, and organization is central to effective preparation and response.
