Just what are healthier soils? How do they impact crop growth?
Nester points to more earthworms and better soil structure.
Sundermeier points to water infiltration and increased organic
matter. Hatfield points to biological components that can offset
challenges to the plant.  “We are still working out how to bring
together biological, chemical and physical measurements to
evaluate both the soil and plant components,” says Hatfield.
“For example, in cover crops, the growing roots supply fresh
root material for the microbes to eat throughout a longer period
of time.”  Senyu Chen, plant pathologist, Southern Research and
Outreach Center, University of Minnesota, has taken that concept
even further. He’s identified endoparasitic fungi that can
biologically disrupt SCN. These friendly fungi seem to be more
common in continuous-soybean than in corn-soybean rotations.
He’s researching whether the endoparasite can be introduced into
non-suppressive soils, whether in more common corn/soybean
rotations, continuous corn