From: soilfoodweb@aol.com
Date: Sun Mar 09 2003 - 03:21:04 EST
The info should be up on the site this week sometime.
Basically, SFI and Holmes Enviro, another microbiology lab in Corvallis, OR,
have developed a combination of selective media, enzyme analysis, and
molecular approaches, in order to identify a number of the most beneficial
bacteria in soil, compost or compost tea.
When other labs say they assay "Pseudomonas", they do not tell you if the
bacteria are beneficial or disease species. SFI will not allow you to
differentiate the "bad guys" from the "good guys". same with Bacillus
species (do you have the Bacillus species that taste bad to aphids, or white
flies, or other critters?
This is the information you need to know, not whether you have few bacteial
species that might be good, or bad.
Andf of course, if you don't have the species of beneficials, we can suggest
places to go buy them. Or find them.
We are working on rapid ID of E. coli, and I think we'll have that within the
next year. Long time a brewing. Not the "dip the stick in the brew and it
glows if E. coli is present", that's another couple years off, but coming
along. Just be patient.
We are also working on ID of beneficial fungi too. Molecular work is not
cheap, nor quick.
Elaine
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
www.soilfoodweb.com
SFI Oregon, USA
SFI Australia
SFI New York
SFI Europe
SFI New Zealand
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