In our last 4 The Soil electronic newsletter, we emphasized the need to work smarter not
harder by identifying your soil health-building allies and volunteers. Soil fungi (fun-guy), along with earthworms, are other beneficial allies for plants and the soil. In two articles published last August in Ohio’s County Journal, James Hoorman and Dale Strickler outlined nine distinct benefits of soil fungi that included: 1) Increased root mass, 2) Improved drought tolerance, 3) Improved soil structure, 4) Enhanced plant establishment, 5) Reduced root diseases and nematodes, 6) Enhanced ability to take up water and nutrients, 7) Alleviating soil compaction, 8) Suppressed weed growth, and 9) Overall better soil biology. Creating and maintaining a beneficial network between plant roots and soil fungi
where this relationship thrives takes time and energy, therefore, building soil biology while minimizing soil disturbance are essential to soil fungi life and optimizing these nine benefits.
Hoorman, J. & Strickler, D. (August 24, 2022) Beneficial Soil Fungi, Part I. Ohio’s County Journal. Accessible athttps://ocj.com/2022/08/beneficial-soil-fungi/
Hoorman, J. & Strickler, D. (August 30, 2022) Beneficial Soil Fungus, Part II Ohio’s County Journal. Accessible athttps://ocj.com/2022/08/beneficial-soil-fungus-part-2/