0:00:33.332,0:00:37.045
Healthy plants need healthy soil [br]for healthy growth.

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To be able to precisely absorb [br]what plants need,

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the soil needs to contain minerals [br]and the necessary soil life.

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Research shows that [br]the widespread use of synthetic fertilizer

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leads to soils that no longer have [br]the required biology

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for healthy plant growth.

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Fertilizer comes from a time

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in which there was no understanding [br]of the long-term effects on the soil.

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For farmers, fertilizer was a miracle.

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The harvests doubled,

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and growers were able to provide[br]the required food for a growing population.

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But now, after years [br]of using synthetic fertilizers,

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the effects on soil quality are apparent.

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Increasingly, it is seen that

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fewer nutritional minerals [br]remain in the soil

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resulting in plants that quickly [br]become weak and diseased.

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They are no longer protected[br]by bacteria and fungi

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but instead are attacked by them.

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As well as this, using fertilizer [br]means that, these days,

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farmers need to plow deeper,[br]as the ground becomes quickly compacted.

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This is a costly business for farmers[br]and is disastrous for the soil.

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There is a better way.

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It is not widely known,

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but the roots of plants are able [br]to develop more easily

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in an environment rich in old roots.

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Here you can see [br]the current plowing method,

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in which the soil is turned [br]to 25 centimeters.

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This means that the plant really struggles[br]to reach the thousands of passageways

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that other plants have created [br]with their roots.

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They often don't even reach [br]through the plow pan

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which is caused by plowing the land[br]with heavy machinery.

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A surface cultivation method [br]can offer a solution to this.

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This shallow soil processing means that[br]the roots are quickly able to access

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the passageways left by decomposing roots.

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In this situation, they only have [br]to work really hard

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once they reach the extremities [br]of the passageways.

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This means that they can [br]root deeper, year after year,

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and ensures that there is even more[br]soil and water available for growth.

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Dealing with diseases by spraying [br]does little more than suppress symptoms.

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A healthy plant is able to keep [br]most plant diseases out.

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In response to the negative effects [br]of using fertilizers,

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pesticides are used to save the harvest.

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The conclusion we can draw

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is that plants that [br]are only given fertilizer

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will ultimately always become diseased.

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Fertilizer is the direct cause of[br]the use of most pesticides.

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In order to resolve the worldwide problem [br]of over-fertilization,

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the vicious circle must be broken.

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The question that [br]we must ask ourselves is:

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how can we improve the soil?

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The answer is surprisingly simple [br]but requires some explanation.

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Just like every other organism[br]on the planet,

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a plant does not function independently.

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Health and growth depends on a partnership[br]between specialist bacteria and fungi.

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Plants, fungi, and bacteria [br]form a wonderful system,

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based on trading products.

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How does it work?

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Fungi and bacteria supply nutrients

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from the soil that would [br]otherwise be hard to reach.

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In exchange for this, plant supplies [br]sugars in the form of glucose.

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To explain this system,

0:04:22.927,0:04:26.082
we will explain bacteria [br]and fungi separately.

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Plants have a problem.

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Their fine absorption roots [br]have a limited capacity.

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They only use 4 to 7% [br]of the soil volume

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and are, on average, [br]not thicker than a hair.

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They don't live long, [br]only one to three weeks.

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As you can see, [br]plants need external help.

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Plants use their absorption roots [br]to forge a partnership.

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If they can't find partners, they'll die.

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If they succeed,

0:05:06.519,0:05:09.284
it's the start of a beautiful relationship.

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From now on, a symbiosis can be created.

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Minerals are hard to mine from the soil,

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but rhizobacteria are specialized [br]in this process,

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particularly when it comes to [br]releasing phosphate,

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which is very important for the plant.

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These bacteria also carry out [br]countless other important tasks,

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including one which is very special.

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Rhizobacteria form a sort of [br]natural defense system around the roots.

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Anything attacking the plant[br]is kept outside

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by the physical presence[br]of these rhizobacteria.

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They ensure that there is no room [br]for disease-causing bacteria.

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They have their own interest in this[br]because the plant provides them with food.

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However, the bacteria also need help.

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They are not travelers.

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The bacterial colonies do not move [br]back and forth from minerals to the roots.

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Most minerals found in soil are located[br]outside the reach of the roots,

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and therefore, also out of [br]the reach of rhizobacteria.

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These can only live near the roots.

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As we have seen before,

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the zone of absorption is [br]therefore very limited.

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Mycorrhizal fungi are able to drastically [br]increase this absorption capacity.

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It may sound like [br]a modern development,

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but it's not.

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The fungus has always existed

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but due to modernization,[br]its role has been neglected.

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Due to many years of using [br]synthetic fertilizers,

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mycorrhiza is only very sporadically [br]found in agricultural soils.

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Mycorrhizal fungi have always lived[br]in symbiotic relation with the plant roots.

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Mycorrhizal fungus forms [br]a living connection within the roots

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and creates an absorption [br]and transport system.

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This is essential for healthy plant growth.

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Mycorrhiza in the root is just as normal [br]as chlorophyll in the leaves;

0:07:08.319,0:07:10.133
this is beyond doubt.

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As stated before,

0:07:11.458,0:07:15.505
the absorption roots of plants [br]are 0.2 millimeters thick.

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This means that they can only grow [br]in macropores as shown here.

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Now we zoom in to see what happens

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when the plant gets help [br]from the mycorrhizal fungus.

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The fungal threads are [br]even thinner than most bacteria.

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They are only as thick as three microns.

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This means that these thin threads [br]grow easily in the micropores

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where the majority of nutrients [br]and water are stored.

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Without help, a plant would never [br]be able to reach these areas.

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It's not just the roots

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but also the fungal threads [br]that are responsible

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for the absorption of nutrients and water.

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The long, thin fungal hyphae [br]that fully takes over

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the absorption of materials from the roots[br]are able to provide disease resistance.

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Distantly located minerals [br]that are bound to iron and calcium

0:08:05.552,0:08:07.338
are now easier to absorb.

0:08:08.150,0:08:12.024
These fine threads or hypha [br]can easily be a kilometer long

0:08:12.024,0:08:14.131
in just one teaspoon of soil.

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Mycorrhizal fungi cause absorption capacity[br]to be seven times higher in average.

0:08:21.840,0:08:24.579
This means that growing [br]can be done with less water

0:08:24.579,0:08:28.948
and that weeds have far less chance [br]to thrive due to competition for space.

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The benefit to the fungi is [br]the glucose produced by the plants.

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For the plants, the benefit is [br]a larger absorption zone.

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This unique and constant interaction [br]between the plant bacteria and fungi

0:08:43.461,0:08:46.154
creates a really fantastic symbiosis.

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The payout that the plant [br]provides to its partners

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is water, minerals, and glucose.

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The partnership between soil and roots[br]requires healthy soil biology.

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Healthy soil contains organic matter [br]from dead leaves,

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dead roots, and dead animals.

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This dead organic matter [br]is broken down in nature

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by soil life to become humus.

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This creates a great deal of [br]food for soil life

0:09:19.300,0:09:21.996
and the soil retains plenty of CO2.

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Years of using fertilizer

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has caused the humus to disappear[br]from agricultural land.

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You could think of humus [br]as the battery of the soil.

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It's where the energy is stored.

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The energy that the soil life [br]needs to do its work.

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Without the humus, it is almost impossible[br]to achieve natural soil recovery.

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It has long been thought that[br]nitrogen fertilizer stimulates the soil life

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as more bacteria are able to grow.

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But to maintain [br]their carbon-nitrogen balance,

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they are compelled to consume [br]more organic material --

0:09:58.810,0:10:01.584
which then enters the atmosphere as CO2.

0:10:05.327,0:10:10.847
The symbiosis between plant fungi and [br]bacteria is not only a great partnership

0:10:10.847,0:10:12.845
it is absolutely vital.

0:10:13.311,0:10:16.061
Without these transformers [br]of organic material,

0:10:16.061,0:10:19.247
we would all perish [br]in excess organic material.

0:10:20.072,0:10:22.502
Returning to the question [br]we asked previously

0:10:22.502,0:10:24.709
about how we can improve the soil

0:10:24.741,0:10:26.235
the answer must be,

0:10:26.409,0:10:29.926
ultimately, plants improve [br]the soil on their own.

0:10:30.225,0:10:34.919
They do this through the symbiosis between[br]plants, bacteria, and fungi.

0:10:35.393,0:10:38.413
Plants are really the only soil improvers.

0:10:39.119,0:10:42.730
Here we can see a clear difference [br]between an absorption system

0:10:42.730,0:10:45.488
without and with mycorrhizae fungi.

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The plant on the left is [br]entirely dependent on

0:10:48.406,0:10:52.432
the pH value of the soil [br]and the supply of minerals.

0:10:52.922,0:10:57.211
The plant on the right has roots [br]that are able to optimally self-regulate

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the pH level and absorption [br]via mycorrhizae fungi.

0:11:01.387,0:11:03.493
This results in a healthy absorption

0:11:03.493,0:11:06.534
that works perfectly[br]with organic fertilizers.

0:11:07.141,0:11:11.051
Using this natural system, [br]we will achieve healthy soil

0:11:11.077,0:11:13.163
that in turn brings healthy plants

0:11:13.163,0:11:15.674
that can produce [br]healthy fruit and vegetables.

0:11:16.364,0:11:21.150
The way we deal with our soil has [br]a direct effect on the emission of CO2

0:11:21.150,0:11:24.152
and the nutritional value of our food.