Roots

Davie M. Kadyampakeni, Kelly T. Morgan, andSarah L. Strauss

2026–2029 Florida Citrus Production Guide.

David Hébert andAnn C. Wilkie

Nitrogen-fixing legumes are planted as cover crops and in wildlife food plots, where they form beneficial relationships with soil microbes. These legumes grow nodules on their roots that can be plucked or scraped off easily. Conversely, legumes may grow root-knot nematode galls that are hard and part of the root. Pink or red color inside the tissue can indicate well-functioning nodulation. Legume cover crop biomass is a high-protein resource for game species, and decomposition of organic material through green chopping can increase soil fertility. Recognizing the difference between a nitrogen-fixing legume nodule and a root-knot nematode gall is important for assessing plant health and promoting biomass growth.

Hui-Ling Liao

Each gram of rich soil can harbor 100 million to a billion microorganisms, meaning every inch of our soil is alive (Raynaud and Nunan 2014) (Fig. 1). These underground organisms keep soil healthy. Balancing the community of microbes can benefit plant yield, plant health, and soil sustainability. While it is recognized that many soil microbes perform key roles in crop productivity, the importance of these underground activities is easily overlooked because of their small size. By focusing on a specific group of microbes living on or near plant roots, this publication provides understanding for these questions: Who are these microbes and how do they improve plant and soil health?