It’s now widely accepted by scientists that organisms in the soil are significant factors in plant health. An agricultural scientist and professor, Phil Robertson, said these organisms form a small world in the soil they live in. They decompose dead greens and creatures and redistribute their nutrients to growing plants. These organisms are likened to the ones found in the gut, which aid in digestion.

1. U.S. Lawns
Microbes in Soil Essential to
Plant Growth, Scientists Say

2. It’s now widely accepted by scientists that organisms in the soil are significant factors in plant health.
An agricultural scientist and professor, Phil Robertson, said these organisms form a small world in the
soil they live in. They decompose dead greens and creatures and redistribute their nutrients to growing
plants. These organisms are likened to the ones found in the gut, which aid in digestion.
Nature’s Give and Take
In an article about soil microbes and how they recycle nutrients, crop and water specialists James J.
Hoorman and Rafiq Islam stated that a teaspoon of soil has more microbes than the world’s overall
population. Organisms like bacteria, protozoa, nematodes, fungi, arthropods, and earthworms all live
together in harmony and create healthy soil. This community eats carbon from dead organisms and
releases nutrients like phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium in the soil for existing plants to eat. These
plants also provide microbes with carbon and sugar through their roots.

3. The Soil is a Gut
The human gut has over 300 to 500 types of bacteria. They also form an ecosystem within the digestive
tract. They help break down food into nutrients that the body can benefit from. Some scientists even
say that these gut bacteria can affect body functions from emotions to metabolism. Experts see this
similarity in agriculture. And some even argue that the overuse of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and
tilling damage the healthy growth of microbes. This claim is akin to some antibiotics breaking the
balance of bacteria in a human being.
The Case of Fertilizers
Thinking that fertilizers are essential to plant growth is untrue, says U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) researcher Rick Haney. In fact, Haney says that being too dependent on chemical additives
might kill bacteria and fungi that nourish the soil. He referenced the Gulf of Mexico’s “dead zone.”
This space has become unusable for farming because of too much nitrogen. Such imbalance is linked
to the excessive use of fertilizer. Haney believes that through a switch to unfertilized soil might slow
down production, it’s a necessary step to save soil and crop quality in the long run.

4. Sources:
https://uslawns.com/locations/oh/north-columbus/
https://research.msu.edu/microbes-crucial-to-long-term-soil-health/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5610682/
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/06/healthy-soil-microbes-healthy-
people/276710/
https://e360.yale.edu/features/why-its-time-to-stop-punishing-our-soils-with-fertilizers-and-
chemicals
https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/SAG-16
https://theconversation.com/to-restore-our-soils-feed-the-microbes-79616