Frequently Asked Questions about PhycoTerra^®

“Soil health” refers to a soil’s ability to do its job – namely, to successfully support plant life season after season. Healthy agricultural soil supports crops throughout their growing cycle in several ways. Healthy soil has excellent structure, which improves both water holding capacity (how much water the soil can hold) and water infiltration (ability of water to move through the soil to where it is needed). This helps crops through abiotic stresses, such as droughts, floods, and extreme temperatures, and improves water productivity (crop yield per cubic meter of water used, i.e., “more crop per drop”).

Healthy soil supports more than just the plants growing in it. Organisms living on and within the soil all contribute to an active, living soil – this includes everything from wildlife and livestock to beneficial insects, like earthworms, to the microorganisms that make up the soil microbiome.  The soil’s living, biological component is a key indicator of soil health.

Healthy soil matters to growers because it helps fulfill a crop’s maximum potential yield.

While a crop’s genetics determine its maximum potential yield, whether it realizes that potential is determined by the environment where it’s grown. Throughout a growing season, crops face a variety of abiotic stresses (excessive heat and cold, droughts, flood, salinity) and biotic stresses (pathogens, pests, weeds), which are the major causes of crop losses.

Healthy soil increases yield for growers by mitigating crop stresses. Healthy soil’s increased water holding capacity and water infiltration helps crops through drought and flood. Healthy soil’s active microbiome mineralizes and carries vital nutrients to both the seed and the plant roots, supporting uniform emergence, stand, and a plant’s eventual vigor. Healthy soil’s structure resists erosion, keeping a grower’s topsoil in the field where it can sustainably support optimized yield potential.

Soil is a grower’s most important asset, and healthy soil fulfills potential yield and maximizes a grower’s ROI each year.

Healthy soil:

• Optimizes crop yield / return on investment (ROI)
• Promotes consistent crop stand and emergence (plant vigor)
• Improves nutrient use efficiency (NUE)
• Resists wind and water erosion of topsoil
• Supports crops through abiotic (heat, cold, drought, flood) and biotic (pathogens, pests, weeds) stresses

As healthy soil does its primary job of supporting thriving plant life, it also does a lot of secondary work to promote a healthy planet. Healthy soil, because it resists erosion and runoff, helps keep agricultural waste from polluting important natural watersheds. Agricultural soil has a huge potential to sequester carbon from the atmosphere, and healthy soils are natural carbon sinks that can offset emissions from agriculture and other industries. As healthy soils naturally support crops through abiotic stresses, have improved water productivity, and optimize nutrient mineralization, these soils can reduce the need for agricultural inputs, further conserving water and reducing pollution.

Healthy agricultural soil is also needed to sustainably feed a growing global population. Topsoil is necessary to grow food, but half the topsoil in the world has been lost due to erosion over the last 150 years, and this startling trend continues today. As unhealthy soils continue to erode at an alarming rate, regenerative practices are needed to build up healthy soil to sustainably secure the future of the global food chain.

Healthy soils:

• Promote biodiversity
• Protect watersheds
• Sequester carbon
• Reduce need for synthetic inputs
• Help growers sustainably feed a growing population

There are many ways to measure soil health. Tests to determine soil health focus on the five aspects indicating the soil’s ability to function as a living ecosystem to support plant, animal, and human life:

• Nutrient cycling
• Water
• Filtering and buffering
• Physical Stability and Support
• Habitat for Biodiversity

Visual test: assess soil health by looking for evidence of earthworms, beneficial fungi (white strings of hyphae) and structure (aggregated soil vs. compaction).

Haney Soil Health Test: Named after USDA scientist Rick Haney, the Haney soil test is focused on determining soil biological activity. The Haney test measures microbially available pools of Carbon (C) and Nitrogen (N) in the soil in addition to soil values such as microbial expiration and standard macro- and micro-nutrients for crop consumption. Your soil’s biology is always changing, so the Haney test acts as a snapshot – as you continue to make soil management changes, consult with your extension agent or local CCA to interpret Haney test results and adjust your program accordingly.

The Slake Test: The Slake test evaluates soil structure by demonstrating the stability of soil aggregates in water. Good soil structure is a critical part of healthy soil, and stable soil aggregates allow soil to support maximum water holding capacity and water productivity. If large pores within the soil are stable, water can move into the soil without causing the aggregate to break apart (“slake”). Biological activity, such as robust networks of fungal hyphae, exudates from beneficial bacteria, and earthworm activity, all contribute to soil aggregative and stability.

Every field is different, and many different methods exist for growers to improve their soil health on their farms. Soil health can be improved by addressing each of the three main properties of soil: chemical, physical, and biological – with holistic land management practices.

Regenerative agriculture, which works to regenerate and build back the planet’s topsoil with practical solutions, has four principles to help guide growers on practices that are key to improving soil health.

• Minimize soil disturbance. Modern tillage practices compact soil and disturb the microbial communities living in the soil. By reducing tillage, growers improve soil health by preserving soil aggregates and allowing microbial communities to thrive and support crops.
• Keep soil covered. Bare soil – soil with no crop or residue covering it – is easily eroded by both wind and water.
• Keep living roots in the soil. By utilizing cover crops to keep living roots in the soil, soils resist erosion and promote a thriving microbial community. Beneficial microbes form a symbiotic relationship with plants and are attracted to a plant’s roots. Keeping roots in the soil helps keep the microbial community fed, housed, and active.
• Maximize plant diversity. Rotating crops supports the other three principles of regenerative agriculture – it keeps living roots in the soil, keeps the ground covered, and promotes biodiversity. A greater diversity of plants also means a greater diversity of microbes – there are billions of beneficial microbes in soil, with a diverse range of jobs they can do for the plant.

The soil microbiome is the soil’s living, biological component, and is made up of a diverse array of microbes – including beneficial bacteria and fungi. These living, microscopic organisms live in the soil and form symbiotic relationships with the plant throughout the growing season.

Microbes are tiny living organisms that can only be seen under a microscope. Microbes are found all around us – in just a teaspoon of soil, there are over a billion microbes. Soil microbes include microalgae, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and protozoa. Soil microbes make up the soil microbiome, which is the living, biological component of soil.

Microalgae are microscopic algae. They are incredibly diverse, with hundreds of thousands of strains, and are typically found in water and soil. Like their higher plant cousins, microalgae can perform photosynthesis, and are vital to life on Earth – they form the base of the food web and produce about half the oxygen in the atmosphere. Although they are single-celled, microalgae typically contain a balance of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins, and have huge potential as a sustainable food source for people, crops, animals, and microorganisms. Applying microalgae to the soil has proven benefits for a wide range of crops, including corn, soybeans, winter wheat, spring wheat, almonds, canola, cotton, rice, peanuts, fruits, forages, alfalfa, and specialty crops.

Beneficial native soil microbes impact soil health in a variety of ways. Soil microbes improve soil structure by excreting glue-like substances (EPS) and web-like structures (hyphae) which help bind the soil particles into aggregates. This improved structure increases the water holding capacity and water infiltration in soil, as well as helping soil resist erosion during heavy rain and extreme weather events.

Beneficial microbes are incredibly diverse and perform a wide variety of jobs that improve both plant and soil health. In their symbiotic relationship with the plant, some microbes solubilize minerals in the soil and carry them to the plant roots, while other microbes produce plant growth hormones or feed on bacteria harmful to plants.

In a single teaspoon of soil, there are 1 billion bacteria and 1 million fungi. A grower’s field contains more microbes than there are people on planet Earth. Soil microbes do important jobs for the soil and the crop, and there are billions upon billions of them underfoot – however, a huge portion of those microbes (about 75%) are dormant. Modern agricultural practices (e.g., tilling, monoculture, etc.) impact soil microbes by reducing the food (carbon) available to them, and as a result, starving microbes will go dormant as a survival mechanism. These inactive, dormant microbes are still present in the soil, but do not do work for the plant. Microbes that are native to the soil are already adapted to that environment, so whenever it’s possible to feed these native microbes and maintain the stability of the ecosystem, that is what is best for the soil and the crop. It is important for growers to feed their native soil microbes a balanced meal so they can activate, thrive, and promote soil health and fulfill yield potential.

Billions of soil microbes are a grower’s “sleeping giant” – huge potential in their field just waiting to be woken up and put back to work. Growers can feed their native beneficial soil microbes by adding PhycoTerra^®, a superior soil microbial food, to their land management strategy.

PhycoTerra^® is a family of agricultural products promoting soil health, regenerative agriculture, and sustainable yields for growers. The PhycoTerra^® portfolio includes PhycoTerra^® soil microbial food, PhycoTerra^® Organic soil microbial food, and PhycoTerra^® ST, our award-winning seed treatment.

PhycoTerra^® and PhycoTerra^® Organic are both liquid soil microbial foods that harness microalgal technology to feed the beneficial native microbes in the soil. PhycoTerra^® ST is a seed treatment that applies a quality carbon source to the seed to feed the beneficial microbes in the spermosphere, a seed’s first interaction with the soil and a critical period for crop success.

Learn more about PhycoTerra^® products.

PhycoTerra^® Organic is an organic soil microbial food and is both OMRI Listed and CDFA registered for use on organic farms. PhycoTerra^® Organic is a liquid formulation with an organic-approved stabilizer and a 2-year shelf life. Learn more on our product page.

PhycoTerra^® is NOT a biological product because PhycoTerra® products do not contain any living organisms. PhycoTerra^® is a pasteurized, non-living formula sourced from nature. Biological products are agricultural products containing cultures of living microorganisms. One example of a biological product would be inoculants used to optimize Nitrogen-fixing in legume crops.

PhycoTerra^® is a carbon product. Like biostimulants, carbon products are non-living, naturally occurring substances that support crops by utilizing natural processes and improving soil characteristics favorable for crop growth. Read our blog post on carbon products, biostimulants, and biologicals to learn the different ways they work in your field and for your crops.

PhycoTerra^® is an inert formula with a 2-year shelf life and may be classified as a soil amendment, soil microbe food (California and Florida), or natural fertilizer (Texas), depending on different state and country regulations and product naming conventions.

PhycoTerra^® is NOT a plant growth regulator (PGR). Plant growth regulators are chemical compounds that directly affect plant growth and behavior. One example of a plant growth regulator would be a pesticide intended to inhibit plant growth.

PhycoTerra^® has a unique mode-of-action that supports crops by feeding beneficial microorganisms in the soil microbiome and does not make direct changes to the plant.

PhycoTerra^® works directly on the health of the soil microbiome by providing a superior food source to the beneficial microbes in the soil. When soil microbes do not have an appropriately balanced food source, they go dormant as a survival strategy. Dormant microbes remain in the field but are not able to carry out the jobs they would normally do for the soil and the plant. When the microbes are fed a balanced food like PhycoTerra^®, they “wake up” from their dormancy and go back to work for the plant, improving soil structure and water productivity, mineralizing, and transporting nutrients, and supporting plants through abiotic stresses. PhycoTerra^® feeds the microbes and wakes up the soil’s full potential for the grower.

Beneficial soil microbes need a high-quality, balanced diet to thrive and multiply. PhycoTerra^® and PhycoTerra^® Organic are unique formulations with a carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratio of 7:1, which makes it an excellent carbon source for microbes and promotes mineralization. Many biostimulants have a much higher C:N ratio, which can lead to immobilization of soil nutrients, making them unusable to the plant. Because PhycoTerra^® utilizes microalgae as the main ingredient in its formulation, it contains an ideal balance of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins which feed a diverse range of beneficial microbes and encourages a steady and prolonged activation of the soil microbiome after application.

PhycoTerra^® uses microalgal technology to deliver a balanced meal for microbes. Our formulation is tested to and focused on feeding the microbes beneficial to crops. While PhycoTerra^® is potentially a food source for all microbes present in the soil, its unique formula feeds a diverse range of beneficial and neutral microbes. Thus, the “good” microbes in the soil essentially out-compete the “bad” microbes in the soil – some beneficial microbes even eat bad microbes as one of the jobs they perform for the crop.

One of the issues impacting soil is conventional agricultural practices deplete the carbon (or food) available to beneficial soil microbes. Starving microbes go dormant as a survival strategy and no longer do the important jobs the crop needs them to do, despite still being in the soil. Around 75% of soil microbes globally are currently dormant in growers’ fields today – thus leaving them not as healthy as they could be.

PhycoTerra^® feeds and activates these beneficial soil microbes, which are the foundation of soil health. When these native microbes are fed a “balanced diet” they go back to work in the soil doing important jobs, which include improving soil structure and water productivity, optimizing nutrient mineralization, and cycling, and supporting plants through abiotic stress.

PhycoTerra^® is a sustainable, practical input to manage and improve soil’s biological component, which is the basis of soil health. Soil contains a diverse range of microbes, but 75% of them are starving. Because they are starving, they go dormant as a survival strategy. Dormant microbes do not do the work the soil and the crop need them to do. No food = no work, as far as microbes are concerned.

PhycoTerra^® feeds these beneficial microbes, and the microbes go back to work for the soil and the crop. By building soil structure, improving water holding capacity, mineralizing nutrients, and helping support the crop during abiotic stresses, these microbes improve eventual crop yield.

PhycoTerra^® feeds, activates, and promotes the diversity of the soil microbiome, and this active soil microbiome maximizes potential crop yield for growers globally.

PhycoTerra^® promotes healthy soil through the activation of the soil microbiome. As soil quality and health concerns are coming to the forefront of the agricultural community, new scientific studies are being conducted to determine what the effects of healthy soil are on a crop’s nutritional density and quality.

Right now, the full effects of healthy soil on crop nutrient density and quality are unknown. The quality of food is determined by a myriad of factors, which include climate, soil, handling after harvest, and plant genetics.

PhycoTerra^® has a wide application window, and can be applied pre-plant, in-furrow, post-emergence, or side-dress to benefit the crop in-season. PhycoTerra^® can also be applied post-harvest as part of a residue management plan to prepare the soil for spring planting.

Multiple, successful trials have been conducted with PhycoTerra^® across various soil types to activate the native beneficial microbes supporting a variety of crops. These crops include commodity crops (such as corn, soybeans, winter wheat, spring wheat, canola, cotton, and peanuts), cover crops, specialty crops (such as almonds, strawberries, vegetables, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, fruits, citrus), and forages (such as alfalfa and silage corn). See the results of growing crops with PhycoTerra^®.

PhycoTerra^® is an inert formulation and does not have any special storage requirements. All PhycoTerra^® branded products can be stored in the field during the season and can withstand both heat and cold without reducing efficacy. For multiple use, the container should be sealed properly after each use and stored in a dry, cool place.

Right before use, PhycoTerra^® branded products should be agitated to mix and resuspend the formula for application. Make sure to read the appropriate mixing instructions by product and packaging type.

PhycoTerra^® and PhycoTerra^® ST both increase yield and ROI individually. In recent trials, we have seen complementary ROI increases across several application methods:

• Apply PhycoTerra^® in the fall your post-harvest residue management plan and use PhycoTerra^® ST on the next season’s crop seed. Or,
• Use PhycoTerra^® ST on your seed and apply PhycoTerra^® post-emergence to help boost crop performance early in the season.

Yes! PhycoTerra^® has a wide application window and can be used on both no-till and strip-till fields to further promote soil microbial activity and soil health.

Yes! PhycoTerra^® Organic is both OMRI listed and CDFA registered and can be added to organic farming operations to activate soil microbes to promote soil health and optimized yields.

Yes! Because PhycoTerra^® is a pasteurized, non-living product, it is incredibly stable and mixes well with a variety of crop inputs, such as CAN-17 and UN-32. Ask your rep for a jar test to see how easily we mix with your current inputs, then read our blog on blending PhycoTerra^® with liquid fertilizer inputs to improve ROI by optimizing nitrogen use efficiency.

Yes! PhycoTerra^® has received a label expansion for post-harvest residue management in the United States. Using PhycoTerra^® post-harvest as part of a residue management plan prepares the soil bed for a successful spring planting. Read more about PhycoTerra^® and residue management.

PhycoTerra^® is available for use in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin American countries, and Australia. Whether you are a grower looking for where to buy locally, or a retailer interested in carrying us on your shelves, contact us and we’ll get you started.

Drought is an increasing issue across California and much of the Western region of the U.S. as extreme drought persists through the growing season. PhycoTerra^® can help growers support their crops through drought conditions by feeding the microbes that improve soil structure. Soil with an abundant and diverse microbiome and healthy structure can support crops through drought by increasing water holding capacity, water productivity, and water infiltration. Growers using PhycoTerra^® have seen an increase in their soil’s water holding capacity by up to 10%. This allows the soil to hold more water for the crop when it needs it, which is especially important during drought conditions.

Drought isn’t the only challenge growers are facing. Too much water in the form of heavy rainfall or flooding can also negatively impact crops and yield. PhycoTerra^® can help growers support their crops and soil health through flood conditions by feeding the microbes that improve soil structure. Soil with an abundant and diverse microbiome and healthy structure can support crops through drought by increasing water productivity and water infiltration and reducing erosion and nutrient runoff.

Water holding capacity is a soil’s ability to hold a certain amount of water. The higher the soil’s water holding capacity, the better! Soils that can hold a lot of water can store it for when a plant needs it throughout the growing season. Water holding capacity is different than water productivity and water infiltration.

Water productivity is water’s ability to move through the soil to where it is needed. Water productivity allows soil to bring water to the root zone when crops are experiencing drought and move it away from the root zone when crops are experiencing flood conditions. Water productivity also allows soils to flush out salts and reduce root zone salinity as water moves through it.

Water infiltration is water’s ability to penetrate the surface of the soil to reach the root zone. Water infiltration is important as it allows water to enter the soil for the crop. Good water infiltration also reduces run-off and erosion in the field.

PhycoTerra^® improves water holding capacity, water productivity, and water infiltration by feeding the soil’s native beneficial microbes. These microbes improve soil structure, which is the key to optimizing water productivity, capacity, and infiltration for the benefit of the crop.

Learn more about how PhycoTerra^® supports crops on both ends of the soil moisture spectrum.

Regenerative agriculture is a way of producing food, growing crops, and grazing livestock that focuses on

improving soil health to reap net positives for the grower, the consumer, and the environment. Half of the world’s topsoil has been lost in the last 150 years and it’s still degrading at an alarming rate. Regenerative agriculture puts the soil first and is a set of land management practices that seeks to reverse this trend by rebuilding and regenerating soil health and biodiversity. Fertile soil is a vital piece of feeding our growing global population and drawing down carbon from the atmosphere to mitigate climate change. Regenerative agriculture is measured by results (e.g., improved NUE, optimized water holding capacity, robust soil structure, etc.) rather than inputs, so it can be adapted to any growing operation. The six main principles of regenerative agriculture include:

• Know Your Field
• Keep Soil Covered
• Minimize Soil Disturbance
• Increase Crop Diversity
• Maintain Continuous Living Roots
• Integrate Livestock (When Possible)

Read more about the benefits of regenerative agriculture and how you can integrate these principles into your growing operation for healthier soil and increased yields.

Many terms describe farming with the health of the soil, crop, and planet in mind – sustainable, organic, conservation, regenerative – and while they’re not all the same, they do often overlap.

Out of them all, “organic” is currently the only term with a strict standard for growers and is regulated by the USDA. While organic farmers often focus on soil health and may use regenerative agriculture practices to achieve their goals, what makes their harvests “organic” (such as not using synthetic inputs) is predetermined and they are inspected yearly.

Sustainable agriculture overlaps heavily with regenerative agriculture. Sustainable agriculture’s goal is to maintain the land we have, through practices that protect it from degradation, and support the planet by halting climate change.

Regenerative agriculture focuses specifically on outcomes – what practical steps can growers take to build back the health of their soil? The goal for regenerative agriculture is not only to sustain what we have, but to build back what has been lost over the years. Building organic matter in the soil, sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, and minimizing inputs are all outcomes supported by regenerative agriculture practices.

Regenerative agriculture is profitable for farmers. Over time, land management practices that promote healthy soil lead to increased yields, buffer against abiotic stresses on plants, mitigate crop loss in drought and flood conditions, and reduce the need for costly external inputs. As carbon markets continue to gain popularity, carbon credits are another income stream farmers can realize as a part of regenerative agriculture.

The goal of regenerative agriculture is to regenerate healthy soils globally, which is good for not only human and plant health, but for the entire planet. One of the benefits of healthy soil is carbon sequestration, which helps mitigate the effects of climate change.

A growing global population coupled with the unpredictability of climate change will put a strain on the global food supply chain. Growers will be asked to produce more with less, while at the same time reducing the agricultural impact on the climate. The increased biodiversity and healthy soil that are key facets of regenerative agriculture will help the global food supply chain remain resilient in the face of greater stresses.

Regenerative agriculture is focused not only on building healthy soil but promoting practices that help growers reach this goal in practical ways. Regenerative agriculture is “results based” because every field is different – land management practices that work for one grower may not work for another. Because PhycoTerra^® works across a broad range of soil and crop types and mixes well with other crop inputs, it is an excellent tool for growers looking to add regenerative agriculture practices to their operation.

The agricultural community is on the front lines of climate change. Agriculture contributes to climate change because modern agricultural practices emit a large amount of greenhouse gas (GHG), accounting for over 10% of GHG emissions globally. At the same time, the agricultural community is often hit the hardest by the extreme weather climate change brings. Drought, floods, and temperature extremes all lead to an unpredictable growing season for farmers, and a precarious future.

Regenerative agriculture and soil health can help mitigate climate change by drawing carbon down from the atmosphere into the soil. Regenerative agriculture also promotes biodiversity and healthy ecosystems. These systems are more resilient to extreme weather and will help both planet and people bounce back quicker from the challenges of a changing climate.

Many large companies are pledging to go “carbon neutral” or “zero carbon footprint” in the next five to thirty years. This means they pledge not to emit more carbon into the atmosphere than they offset in other ways. This may mean adopting more sustainable business practices (utilizing solar, going paperless, etc.) but for many businesses, these sustainable practices are not enough to bring their carbon footprint down to zero. Carbon markets allow these businesses to purchase “carbon credits” from other businesses – including growers – who are taking steps to sequester more carbon from the atmosphere. Agricultural land has a large opportunity to sequester carbon with healthy soil and regenerative land management practices. Growers who improve their soil are eligible to participate in carbon markets, where they are essentially paid for creating healthy soil on their farms.

PhycoTerra^® feeds the beneficial microbes native to your field, which help create healthy soil. Healthy soil is then able to sequester carbon from the atmosphere and keep it in your field where it can further support optimized crop growth and yield. While carbon products, biostimulants, and biologicals are not currently required in carbon credit programs, their integration into the programs is very likely.