Farming Program
Soiltech programs do not consider the soil just a growth medium but recognize the soil itself as a living diverse biological ecosystem that assists the plant to supply mineral nutrients for maximum growth. Living soils at the same time plays a pivotal role in creating “disease-suppressive” soils.
The following steps would therefore involve a Soiltech program.
SOIL SAMPLE & SOIL LABORATORY
The foundation of a successful program is an accurate and representative soil sample collected from the prospective field.
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All soil samples are sent directly to “Perry Agricultural Laboratory” in the U.S.A –
where they are analyzed according to Prof.William Albrecht’s model. All recommendations to correct the soil’s balance according to the Kinsey-Albrecht model and Perry lab results as a foundation are done by the offices of Kinsey Ag Services, Inc. (Neal Kinsey).
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The Kinsey-Albrecht method is based on a system of mineral supplementation:
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This is applied in such a way that the soil is not harmed and feeds the plants correctly.
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Feed the soil to feed the plant is a vital concept of the Kinsey-Albrecht Model and the main pillar on which Soiltech is building its soil fertility programs.
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Creating the proper environment for soil biology to thrive in is the true goal of the Kinsey-Albrecht Model.
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Although the relationship between the health of the soil and biodiversity is not completely clear yet, a medium to a high level of biodiversity usually indicates healthy soil.
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Hence it is important for the Soiltech-approach to think beyond the traditional attitude that the root system and the soil are only there to provide anchorage to the plant and to absorb nutrients and water.
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The establishing and stimulation of an active, diverse soil life forms the centre of all Soiltech programs.
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High quality, Actively Aerated Compost Tea (AACT) is used as the vehicle to establish this healthy soil life in the fields on our programs. The “heart” of the Compost Tea is a mixture of highly specific composts, which is solely and carefully produced for this purpose.
PLANT GROWTH PROMOTING MICRO-ORGANISMS
The interaction between plants and their surroundings is a dynamic process in which plants monitor their environment and react to changes. Plant Growth Promoting Micro-Organisms (PGPM) are free-living bacteria and fungi of beneficial agriculture importance.
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These organisms exist in the rhizosphere which is defined as the zone of soil surrounding a plant root where the biology and chemistry of the soil are influenced by the root. PGPM encourage beneficial effects on plant health and growth. Generally plant growth promotion can be facilitated by these micro-organisms in various ways like nitrogen-fixing, the production of hormones such as auxins, cytokinins, gibberellins, ethylene, antibiotics, volatile metabolites and the solubilisation of mineral phosphates and other nutrients which leads to the acceleration of nutrient availability and assimilation.
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Soiltech realized from the start that PGPMs will be crucial in successful biological farming. Therefore, a lot of effort has been put into identifying and procuring a range of PGPMs which play an integral role in all our programs. We have our own laboratory, (Vermitech) where these micro-organisms are reproduced by a very dedicated team under the guidance and watchful eye of our own microbiologist.
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MICRO-ORGANISM FEEDING PROGRAMS
Most of today’s agricultural soils are so depleted that they cannot provide sufficient maintenance to soil life. Thus, it is critical that the microbes that are placed in the soil with such care should also be given a complete supply of nutritional sources along with proper use of tillage tools and methods to enhance soil life.
Soiltech uses different mixtures that have been developed from personal experience over more than 15 years.
CROPS
Soiltech focuses on creating healthy, fertile soils regardless of the crops being grown. Although there may be small differences between the specific needs of different crops, the basic principles are applied in all programs.
These principles have already been applied to a multitude of crops and there is no reason indicating that it could not effectively be used on all crops.
Just to mention a few of the crops where Soiltech’s approach has already proved itself successful are: Potatoes, butternuts, sweet peppers, chilli, onions, tomato, beetroot, lettuce, cabbage, corn, wheat, sugarcane, bananas, litchis, citrus, macadamia, silage and dairy grazing.