Bio-S.I.TM
Soil building program with soil inoculants
Organic * Non Manure based * Aerates * Increases water holding capacity * Living microbes
All biological products manufactured by Bio-S.I., Inc. are from a fermentation process producing a soil inoculant containing a diverse population of live, naturally occurring, beneficial soil
microorganisms and enzymes. Our products consist of microorganisms/enzymes (aerobes,
facultative anaerobes, and anaerobes), and microorganisms/enzymes with humus. Bio-S.I. is used for
lawns and gardens, agriculture, waste treatment and environmental clean up. These products may be
applied with a good quality hose end sprayer, pump up sprayer, through fertigation systems, injected
through all types of irrigation systems, flood irrigation, or surface applied with broadcast spraying
equipment.
The benefits of using our soil inoculants as a part of your soil building program or fertilization
(chemical or organic) program are as follows:
The broad and diverse population of soil microorganisms will immediately begin to build an aerobic
zone in the soil. The aerobic zone is the top portion of the soil that supports plant life. A healthy
soil will normally have an aerobic zone up to 24 inches deep. Most soils today are one percent
(1%) or less organic matter (humus) and usually have very shallow aerobic zones (1 to 2 inches).
One of the main causes of this is the lack diversity of microorganisms in the soil. Soils that
are in this condition are low in organic matter, have low water holding capacity, compacted, and
have very low oxygen content. This condition is very adverse to good root development by
turf or plants and usually negatively affects production. When you apply Bio-S.I. products, Bio-S.I.
or Bio-S.I. + Humus, you will see conditions in your soil begin to change quickly. Usually the
first change in the soil is a return of the earthy smell soil used to have. You will notice a
reduction in the crusting of the soil also. The reduction of the thick crusting and clodding will
allow for a quicker more uniform plant stand because once the seed has germinated the shoot is
able to break through the soil surface. This helps reduce the need for replanting in most cases.
As the microbial population in the soil improves, the characteristics of the soil will begin to
change. The microbes digest, degrade, and disassociate many forms of salt and chemical residues
in the soil. This process helps change the soil’s pH and the charge of soil particles from positive
to negative and negative to positive freeing many nutrients which were previously tied up to soil
particles making them unavailable for plant uptake. All soil nutrients must be
degraded/digested by microorganisms from either an organic or inorganic source before these
nutrients become a part of the soil solution for plant use.
The life cycle of microbes naturally enhances the rapid building of soil humus. The soil humus is the
storehouse of nutrients in the soil for plants. These nutrients are in readily available forms for the plant
to use, as they are needed for plant growth and health. A healthy active microbial population will
add about 3,000 pounds of humus material to the soil per acre, per year. This humus material is
almost pure protein from the bodies of microbes that have died as a result of their reproduction
cycles. This humus material provides about 40 to 50 pounds of pure nitrogen per acre. This
nitrogen is stored in the humus fraction of the soil readily available to plants through the soil solution.
You get this free nitrogen for each 1 % of organic matter (humus) that the soil contains. At this
stage the soil begins to aggregate and the tilth of the soil is greatly improved. The soil will hold
nutrients and water much better as you improve the organic matter (humus) content of your soil.
On farms where microbial products have been made a part of the fertilization program annually for
four to five years the organic matter (humus) has increased from less than 1 % to 3% or more. This
increased the soils water holding capacity by four to five times what it could hold at 1 % organic matter.
In tests conducted by the Texas Plant and Soil Laboratory at Edinburg, Texas it was found that soils
with high amounts of minerals; phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sulfur, that plant
tissue and petiole samples of the crop being grown on these soils were very deficient on mineral
uptake. The plants had only 20 % of the necessary mineral uptake for good plant growth and health.
After one application of microbial products the new plant tissue and petiole tests showed the plant’s
mineral uptake had increased 60 to 80 % over the pre-treatment tests. This was done by the microbe’s
ability to solubilize the minerals in the soil into the soil solution making them available for uptake by
the plant as needed for growth.
Other benefits of using Bio-S.I. microbial products are:
· Microbes digest agriculture chemical residues that have built up in the soil which may aid in
causing hardpan and soil compaction.
· Microbes also work in the soil to move the pH toward neutral whether the soil is acidic or
alkaline.
· Microbes improve cation exchange capacity (CEC) for better movement of nutrients in the
rhizosphere (root zone).
· Research has shown that soils with a diverse population of microbes improve the biological
control of soil borne pathogens. This is referred to as antagonistic control, which controls
many plant diseases much better than the fungicides that are used to control plant pathogens such
as fungus and other root diseases.
· As organic matter in the soil increases, fertilizer input requirements are usually reduced. This
depends on the type of crop that is being grown.
· The microbes also increase the seed germination rate of crops and weeds. This means
weed seeds will germinate more evenly and a better weed kill is achieved with the first
application of herbicides, reducing the subsequent applications of herbicides.
By applying Bio-S.I. products Bio-S.I. or Bio-S.I. + Humus anytime during the year you will start
the soil rebuilding program of increasing humus level, improving water holding capacity,
increasing plant nutrient availability, and improving soil tilth. We must remember that it has taken us
sixty (60) years to deplete our soils to their present condition. When you, the grower, make Bio-S.I.
a part of your fertilization program, whether organic or inorganic, rebuilding your soil can be done
in a few years. Bio-S.I.’s soil inoculants will help clean up your soil’s toxicity, build organic matter
(humus), which will improve the tilth of your soil, reduce fuel costs, and build a healthy soil for
increased root mass, deeper root penetration, and a healthier plant leading to the potential for
increased yields and growth of all plants and trees.
A few main keys to a successful rebuilding program:
Take a good soil sample of all you fields and get a soil test done by Texas Plant and Soil Lab in Edinberg, Texas. (carbon dioxide extraction method).
Use only the blend (N,P,K,S) and amount of fertilizer needed. More is not better. Use a quality fertilizer. Find out what by-products/fillers are in it.
Add Bio-S.I. to your fertilization program. Remember, if you take care of the soil and its living components it will benefit your production and grade.
For best results apply pre-plant or at planting either through the irrigation system or by surface
application with a broadcast sprayer. Do not incorporate more than two to three inches into
the soil.
Do Not Mix Bio-S.I. products with fungicides or pesticides.
Texas Organic Gardening Book, Howard Garrett pp. 2, 4, 77, 84, 85, 193, 198, Published 1993
Biological Control of Plant Pathogens, Kenneth F. Baker, PhD., R. James Cook, pp. 345
Soil Biology Primer, Soil and Water Conservation Society Authors and in Co-operations with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, pp. 7, 9, 19, 21,25. Revised 2000 by SWCS.
Copyright October 2005 Bio-S.I. All rights reserved
For more information contact microbes@geotexsupply.com