Bacteria is present in the soil, irrigation water, raw animal manure, dust, and insects. It is almost impossible to determine the number of bacteria during the process of organic farming. Microbial communities indeed play a significant role in the agricultural system. They are the engines that guide the process of nutrient transformation forward and control disease regulation. They also contribute to the ecosystem services like soil erosion control and forming the structure of the soil.
In organic farming manure from livestock returns to the fields as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are avoided. The success of the process depends on the active microbial community as they break down the organic matter, making the nutrients available to the plants. A high abundance of microorganisms impacts water dynamics which benefits the crops immensely. There are a bunch of methods to analyse microbial communities. The latest approach is to use molecular methods like a shotgun or amplicon sequencing. These can measure not only the diversity but also the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) helping one determine the impact caused by the microbes. Their presence is also determined by the microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen using the chloroform fumigation method. You might want an expert to test the soil and figure out what it needs instead of trying several hacks that might have an adverse effect.
