by Deac Jones | May 12, 2021 | News
Although fungi have long been lumped together with plants, they are more closely related to animals. At a molecular level, fungi and humans are similar enough to benefit from many of the same biochemical innovations. When we use drugs derived from fungi, we are often borrowing a fungal solution and repurposing it within our own bodies. Fungi are pharmaceutically prolific and today we depend on them for many other chemicals besides the fabled penicillin. There’s cyclosporine, an immunosuppressant drug makes organ transplants possible, and statins, for lowering cholesterol. Taxol is just one of many anti-cancer compounds. And of course there’s alcohol, fermented by yeast. Sixty percent of enzymes used in industry are generated by fungi and 15% of all vaccines are produced by engineered strains of yeast. Citric acid is produced by fungi. Fungal solutions are also useful well beyond human pharmaceuticals. Fungi play a major role in agriculture, whether it’s reducing colony collapse in honeybees, treating heavy metals and toxins in soils (Andaman Ag has a great product for this application), mobilizing soil nutrients and trading them with plants for sugars and fats — we are only beginning to understand the intricacies and sophistications of fungal interactions.
by Deac Jones | May 6, 2021 | News
Humic substances such as lignin and charcoal are formed by the microbial degradation of dead plant matter. Among these substances are humic acids — complex molecules that exist naturally in soils, peats, oceans and fresh waters. Humic acid is not a single acid; rather, it is a complex mixture of many acids containing carboxyl and phenolate groups.
by Deac Jones | Apr 28, 2021 | News
Fungi is doing what it’s been doing for more than a billion years – eating rock, making soil, digesting pollutants, nourishing and killing plants, producing food, making medicines, manipulating animal behavior and influencing the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere. Yet, fungi are largely hidden from view and more than 90% of their species remain undocumented.
by Deac Jones | Apr 13, 2021 | News
2021 is being compared to 2015 as a critically dry year for California. 2 million acres of farmland will fall woefully short of its required water supply. I mentioned in previous newsletters that Andaman Ag sells AquaVantage, a bio-degradable, starch-based polymer that’s used as a soil amendment, capable of absorbing up to 500 times its weight in water to store and gradually release it to crops. The result: crops require 30-40% less water, given the water holding capacity! We believe it’s a breakthrough product that can have a major role in helping to mitigate drought conditions.
by Deac Jones | Mar 24, 2021 | News
We’ve decided to change the format for our newsletters for a while, and address questions from the field. I already do this indirectly: Many times these questions inspire me to conduct additional research and the information will then find its way into a newsletter. Fielding questions from growers is about as good as it gets for me, and I encourage all of you to send yours my way. We like to solve problems! If we get related questions, we’ll try to group them into a themed response.
I’m an organic almond grower and I’m looking for more nitrogen options. What do you recommend?
