Drew Hundelt, Horticultural Specialist and Agroecology Practicioner, has partnered with Gibrill Sesay at Central University in Sierra Leone and microBIOMETER® is playing an important role in their work. Central University is a beautifully maintained college campus nestled in the lush tropical surroundings of Tonkolili in the Northern Provence.
Drew first became acquainted with Gibrill through the United States Department of State’s Community Engagement Exchange Program. The two spent some time at The Urban Farm in Denver facilitating agricultural programming for local neighborhoods. Shortly thereafter, their application to the reciprocal grant was approved which allowed Drew to visit Central University as an agricultural specialist in the Spring of 2023.
Utilizing the microBIOMETER®, Drew is currently working with the university on curriculum development around soil health in agriculture. Their most recent trials analyze how the effects of compost extract using soil from termite hills can bring about exponential growth and drought resistance to crops. The students are using the kit to get real time results of how the fungi to bacteria ratio can be a catalyst to real beneficial change.
“I had the opportunity to collaborate on several lectures and practicums for 30 students in the agricultural department. I spoke on the advantages of regenerative agriculture, community-built systems, and biologically driven yields. What struck me the most was the look in their eyes and how their spirit was teaming with curiosity. I knew then, initiated by the financial constraints of affording a commercial soil diagnostic lab, that I needed to get a biological tool into their hands to foster that curiosity. I am extremely hopeful about what the future holds for Central University, small-holder farmers in Sierra Leone, and West Africa at large. ” Drew Hundelt
Drew Hundel, Horticultural Specialist and Agroecology Practicioner, has partnered with Gibrill Sesay at Central University in Sierra Leone and microBIOMETER® is playing an important role in their work. Central University is a beautifully maintained college campus nestled in the lush tropical surroundings of Tonkolili in the Northern Provence.
Drew first became acquainted with Gibrill through the United States Department of State’s Community Engagement Exchange Program.
Founded in 2003 UK based Wildflower Turf Ltd has pioneered and developed a soil-less growing system which has transformed the concept of turf growing.
Working with soils a fair bit, it being the substrate into which their products are grown, they are interested in understanding the relationship between plants and soil. This involves investigating things such as soil structure, nutrient content, and more recently microbial content, at their R&D testing facilities in Hampshire.
They know that microbe-rich soil is beneficial for plant health. However, is there a relationship operating in the other direction? Does having a healthy plant population, or a more diverse plant population like the kinds of habitats they are trying to create with their products, influence the soil community or the type and scale of microbial activity in the soil?
To investigate this, they used a microBIOMETER® kit to conduct a study into the difference in microbial biomass of soils under meadows compared to lawns.
The results suggested that increased species richness above ground supports a larger amount of microbial life in the soil below. The meadow areas they tested, where there was around 14 species per m2 on average, had 42% higher microbial biomass than the lawns, which consisted of only a handful of species, and a 60% increase in the amount of fungi was also seen. Microbial biomass was therefore found to be positively correlated with species richness. So, they can demonstrate that there is some kind of positive interaction between the species richness of the planting scheme and the life in the soil below. And this corroborates evidence from a number of similar studies which have shown positive relationships between plant species richness and various soil factors.
This is very interesting research which leads them to believe that you should be able to improve the health of your soil just by increasing the diversity of your plants. Because they know that the more microbes and fungi there are, the more ecosystem services the soil will be providing. There’s more work to be done here to investigate this relationship, but just from this brief study they have found that the soil-plant interaction is much more complex than they were giving it credit for, and the benefits of biodiverse planting schemes like wildflower spaces are also more myriad than they imagined.
Previously they had focused on the importance of wildflower reintroduction for improving aboveground biodiversity, in the form of habitat for insects and birds for example. But they are just beginning to understand how important this habitat is for its relationship with the soil as well. It is their hope that research like this will continue and eventually feed into recommendations like Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) in the UK, and the many benefits of improving soil health through soil organisms.
Founded in 2003 UK based Wildflower Turf Ltd has pioneered and developed a soil-less growing system which has transformed the concept of turf growing.
Working with soils a fair bit, it being the substrate into which their products are grown, they are interested in understanding the relationship between plants and soil. This involves investigating things such as soil structure, nutrient content, and more recently microbial content, at their R&D testing facilities in Hampshire.
Gurpreet Kaur, a PhD student with the Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) at Cornell University, has been working with microBIOMETER® soil testing kits to evaluate the impact of dairy manure application and field history on soil health and yield in corn fields in New York.
This project is part of a larger “New York Value of Manure Study” funded by New York Farm Viability Institute (NYFVI) and Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP).
With support from the Toward Sustainability Foundation and microBIOMETER®, soil health assessments were done for three trials in 2023. The team selected three fields, differing in manure history from no manure history to yearly applications, and took soil samples at three different timesteps during the growing season. Among other measurements, Kaur is valuating microbial biomass and fungal to bacterial ratios using the microBIOMETER® test kit. Preliminary results obtained to date show the impact of field manure history on microbial biomass. As part of the project, several Cornell University undergraduate students are learning how to conduct the microBIOMETER® test as well.
Gurpreet Kaur, a PhD student with the Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP) at Cornell University, has been working with microBIOMETER® soil testing kits to evaluate the impact of dairy manure application and field history on soil health and yield in corn fields in New York.
This project is part of a larger “New York Value of Manure Study” funded by New York Farm Viability Institute (NYFVI) and Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP).
The Central High School Special Education 9th and 10th grade science class reached out to the NOFA/Mass Food Access Team to assist in preparation of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exams.
Mr. James Wilkins, the Department Chair, in collaboration with Sis. Anna Muhammad, Food Access Director, created a year long session that features garden techniques, soil health, cooking, nutrition and food preservation.
The microBIOMETER® test is at the core of these soil health sessions with the students practicing taking soil samples and using the test. Below is feedback from two of the students:
“I really like the tools and using the microBIOMETER® App on my phone. It was so quick and learning to handle soil and the fact that it has the same minerals that I have was really fun to learn. I look forward to taking more soil samples.” – Anthony, 9th grade
” I thought it would be hard to use, but it was really easy and I liked the app on the phone. ” – Xavier, 10th grade
Please click here to view more uses of microBIOMETER® in the classroom!
The Central High School Special Education 9th and 10th grade science class reached out to the NOFA/Mass Food Access Team to assist in preparation of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exams.
Mr. James Wilkins, the Department Chair, in collaboration with Sis. Anna Muhammad, Food Access Director, created a year long session that features garden techniques, soil health, cooking, nutrition and food preservation.
Worm Power, a world leader in organic vermicompost products, helps growers improve crop yield and plant performance through increased root development and plant nutrient uptake. Worm Power’s Vermicompost Liquid Extract is shelf-stable soil amendment from liquid worm castings that have hundreds of diverse bacteria species.
The company currently utilizes the microBIOMETER® test to evaluate field trials on how their product is impacting the soil when compared to an untreated control.
The image here shows an example of before (control) and 4 weeks after application.
Worm Power, a world leader in organic vermicompost products, helps growers improve crop yield and plant performance through increased root development and plant nutrient uptake. Worm Power’s Vermicompost Liquid Extract is shelf-stable soil amendment from liquid worm castings that have hundreds of diverse bacteria species.
The company currently utilizes the microBIOMETER® test to evaluate field trials on how their product is impacting the soil when compared to an untreated control. They like having the ability to show growers that the product is functioning as intended for increasing microbes in the soil.
Many specialty crops sterilize the soil to avoid pathogens. The addition of Worm Power’s products strives to bring soil back to a healthy and functional microbiome. microBIOMETER® provides the grower a visual measurement of the microbial community over time and the improvements gained with each application of their product. Healthy soils promote healthy plants and having a diverse microbe population is critical to this process and the microBIOMETER® provides a great tool to support their efforts.
“microBIOMETER® lets us see immediate results rather than waiting to see the increase in yield at the end of the season.”
