Show The Land Doctor ll By Vivian Virlan Shearer I guess it is about time to get back to the su subject of Hanks Hank's potato potato potato po po- po- po tato scab A About out the best way to slip up on the blind side of this topic will bo be e to get sidetracked sidetracked sidetracked side side- tracked again and talk about about If you cant can't pronounce that one you might do like I did asked another feller and then both of us asked someone else Well VeIl anyway are outfits that live livo In the tho soil They seem to be the missing link as asit asit asit it were between true molds on the one side and bacteria on the theother theother theother other side They take after bacteria bacteria bac bac- teria terla In point of being about tho the same chest measure measure diameter diameter and also being one one cell power They take tako after their cousins on the tho other sl side e the molds because of their threadlike threadlike thread thread- like filaments which are branched branch ranch ranched ed like a tree treo only more moro so These threads do not loom large to the tho naked eyo and andare andare andare are even smaller than similar threads produced by fungi do their best in moist well aired soils but like camels they can carry carryon on better better bet bet- ettel et- et ter tel than their cousins when tho times get dry On the other hand they are very unhappy in a soil soU that leans toward acidity When the phI pH drops to about 5 j or below elow I they disappear Their job In life seems to be beto beto e eto to help belp digest raw digest dissolve raw organic organic organic or or- ganic matter in the soil and so to unlock valuable nutrients Continued on page vage four The Land an Doctor oc or Continued from page one The They seem to be able to reduce all organic matter Including humus to forms Unlocking Unlocking Unlocking Un Un- locking nitrogen and releasing it so that plants can make use of it seems to be their specialty A lot of oC nitrogen is tied up in humus and it would not be available as plant food without being processed and dished up In usable form torm This processed nitrogen appears first I in the form of or amino acids and later In combinations But like all good things ac- ac ces have their naughty sides When they get too thick and thrifty and healthy the they run riot and Infest inCest the plant roots like ticks make themselves on a cow and cause troubles of various sorts Scab on potatoes Is only one of these troubles that and bacteria may cause when the they get gel out of bounds And so when I talked to Hank about the field that grew scabby potatoes I did not tell them that the might be responsible I merel merely sale sain that it sounded like liko the pH might be high thrive best In a pH range of from 6 to S but as I said they are unhappy in an un acid soil soli Therefore the best way to treat the trouble is to lower the pH so that the soil soli reaction will change from alk alkalinity to acidity In many cases this is done by applying sulphur until the drops dros to around 55 However Howe because of the fact that due to less lively life Ilfe in inthe inthe inthe the soil the decomposition and digestive processes are slowed up in low pH soil so any changes must be handled carefully to avoid the development of toxic organic compounds |