How Plants
Grow
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Presented By
Hugh Lovel
2 Worendo St., Wiangaree, NSW 2474 Australia
[email protected] [email protected]
For The
Food Summit, Tennessee State University, 2015
How Plants Grow
Soil Biology and Plant Roots
Legumes do NOT fix nitrogen. So,
what do they do?
Root Exudation:
Legumes Acid—Grasses alkaline
Cover illustration:
pH changes
in the rhizosphere of
chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)
and maize (Zea mays L.)
fertilized with nitrate.
An agar sheet containing bromocresol
purple
(pH indicator) was placed
on the root/soil surface.
Bulk soil pH 5.0;
chickpea 3.9,
maize 6.5
(Courtesy of Barbara Dinkelaker).
How Plants Grow
• Roots take up nutrients via their
woody interior, known as the xylem.
This feeds cell division, chlorophyll
production and photosynthesis in the
tips and leaves, building up sugars.
• Each type of plant sends a different
mix of its surplus back to its root tips
via the outer root layer just under the
bark, known as the phloem.
• These root exudates act as a food
source for various microbes which
elaborate nutrients from clay/humus
complexes, solubilise phosphorous, fix
nitrogen and provide digestion and
nutrient release.
(Fixed Root)
(Growing Tip)
Actinomycetes Primary Silica Solubilizers
Lamb’s Quarters with Vesicular
Arbuscular Mycorrhizae
Rhizobacter
Azotobacter
Buckwheat
Valerian
Phosphorous
Solubilizers
A Grass Plant clotted with
microbes solubilizing
silicon and phosphorus,
fixing nitrogen and
releasing nutrients
Rhizobia
Azotobacter
Nettle
Chamomile
Nitrogen Fixers
• Vertical Axis
• Photosynthesis
• Blossoming
• Fruiting
• Ripening
• Physical Element
• Refines The Essence
• Parallel Leaf Veins
• Elongates Things
• Cell Wall
• Levitational
• Grasses
Silicon works in Summer
Cosmic By Day
Silicon is the most ignored element in agriculture Fungal transport tissue
Calcium works in Winter
Earthly By Night
• Horizontal Axis
• Nitrogen Fixation
• Digestion
• Nourishment
• Growth
• Etheric Element
Calcium fixes nitrogen and provides for cell reproduction
• Reproduces Things
• Branching Leaf Veins
• Fattens Things
• Cell nucleus
• Gravitational
• Legumes
Bacteria in
solution
Mined Clay Humates Biodynamic Horn Clay
Clay moderates between Lime and Silica
Clay and Humus
Pottery Clay
Plants Animals Microbes
Biological
Diversity
What Plants Do In Nature
Ectomycorrhizae Endophytic
Actinomycetes
Vesicular Arbuscular
Mycorrhizae
Symbiotic Fungi and Bacteria
Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria
(Azotobacters)
Protozoa Dung Beetles Ants Collemboles Mite Nematode
Digestion and Nutrient Release
Bees Cows Earthworms
The effect of soil animals on soil structure
Ginger as a
“Ruminant”
Builds Biology
Rich
Symbiosis
Rich
Symbiosis
Small Area, High Value
Soil Condition After Ginger
A “Lucky” Farm