Rivolto ad agricoltori, giardinieri e coltivatori, per aiutarli a capire come utilizzare al meglio i batteri 'alleati' sia nelle sfide del lavoro quotidiano, sia per affrontare efficacemente i cambiamenti climatici, la perdita di suolo e l'alimentazione di una popolazione in rapida crescita. Questo libro prende le mosse da quegli studi scientifici che hanno dimostrato come la maggior parte delle piante ottenga una parte significativa dei propri nutrienti attirando batteri endofiti, ovvero quei batteri che vivono all'interno delle loro stesse cellule. Attraverso un processo complesso chiamato ciclo della rizofagia, le cellule vegetali raccolgono l'azoto e altri nutrienti nella parete cellulare di un batterio e ne espellono i protoplasti nel terreno, dove poi ricostruiscono le loro pareti cellulari, ricominciano a nutrirsi e ripetono il ciclo. Interessante, direte, ma perché è così importante? Perché senza batteri endofiti le piante ricevono meno nutrienti e non possono svilupparsi correttamente. 'Batteri in campo' non si limita a spiegare il ciclo della rizofagia, ma mostra come sfruttare questo straordinario processo per aumentare la produttività dei raccolti e per controllare gli agenti patogeni, senza utilizzare agenti chimici e metodi inquinanti. Introduzione di James Francis White.

Just as he demystified the soil food web in his ground-breaking book Teaming with Microbes, in this new work Jeff Lowenfels explains the basics of plant nutrition from an organic gardener’s perspective. Most gardeners realize that plants need to be fed but know little or nothing about the nature of the nutrients and the mechanisms involved. In his trademark down-to-earth, style, Lowenfels explains the role of both macronutrients and micronutrients and shows gardeners how to provide these essentials through organic, easy-to-follow techniques. Along the way, Lowenfels gives the reader easy-to-grasp lessons in the biology, chemistry, and botany needed to understand how nutrients get into the plant and what they do once they’re inside. (Don’t worry: you won’t have to learn college-level science.) Teaming with Nutrients will make you a better informed, more successful, more environmentally responsible gardener and will give you a new appreciation for the plants you grow.

Smart gardeners know that soil is anything but an inert substance. Healthy soil is teeming with life — not just earthworms and insects, but a staggering multitude of bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms. When we use chemical fertilizers, we injure the microbial life that sustains healthy plants, and thus become increasingly dependent on an arsenal of artificial substances, many of them toxic to humans as well as other forms of life. But there is an alternative to this vicious circle: to garden in a way that strengthens, rather than destroys, the soil food web — the complex world of soil-dwelling organisms whose interactions create a nurturing environment for plants. By eschewing jargon and overly technical language, the authors make the benefits of cultivating the soil food web available to a wide audience, from devotees of organic gardening techniques to weekend gardeners who simply want to grow healthy, vigorous plants without resorting to chemicals.