Soil Health: New Opportunities to Innovate in Crop Protection Research and Development

Abstract

Soil health-based agricultural management practices are widely promoted to reduce erosion, increase nutrient use efficiency, improve soil structure, and sustain or increase yields. Pest and disease management are less frequently considered as components of a soil health management system. We present a framework for how the crop protection industry can advance soil health by developing systems of crop protection innovation that simultaneously target soil health outcomes, either through direct impact on soil or by enabling practices that promote soil health outcomes. Such an approach could lead to cross-sectoral, integrated agricultural solutions that achieve agronomic, environmental, and economic goals.

Microbial Diversity and Enzyme Activity as Indicators of Permethrin-Exposed Soil Health

“…Innovations in the protection of the quality of soils and crops should take advantage of the role of microbial communities, which can be a key element in the maintenance of soil health [ 46 , 47 ]. An evaluation of the quality of soil takes into account the biological diversity of organisms [ 48 ], and the biomass and activity of microorganisms and invertebrates [ 47 , 49 , 50 ].…”

“…Innovations in the protection of the quality of soils and crops should take advantage of the role of microbial communities, which can be a key element in the maintenance of soil health [ 46 , 47 ]. An evaluation of the quality of soil takes into account the biological diversity of organisms [ 48 ], and the biomass and activity of microorganisms and invertebrates [ 47 , 49 , 50 ]. In the course of this study, the 16S metagenomic analysis enabled us to identify from 109,188 to 176,303 OTUs of sequences of bacteria, and from 67,296 to 252,879 OTUs of fungi.…”