Chandler Soil

Chandler Soil is an enzyme-based liquid that multiplies bacteria, fungi, and other beneficial microbes. There are several advantages to the enzyme approach. Over time, the additional microbial activity generated by Chandler Soil improves nutrient availability and soil health, increases organic matter, and reduces problems with compaction and poor drainage.

Does Chandler Soil also increase crop yields?

Yes, farm fields with improved soil health are generally more productive. The most important changes noticed by our customers are related to reduced compaction, improved drainage, and higher nutrient availability. However, many farmers have noticed higher crop yields over time. Although we note that you may not see an immediate yield increase when using Chandler Soil, we have seen first-year increases of 2-5 bushels per acre in corn and 2-3 bushels per acre in soybeans. By the third year of use, Chandler Soil often increases corn yields by 8 or more bushels per acre, especially in fields that were heavily compacted or had low initial soil health levels.

What changes do you see in the field?

This photo was taken in a corn field owned by one of our early customers from Eastern Iowa. When he bought the farm, it was heavily compacted in the top 18-20 inches and poorly drained. The crop roots could not penetrate far into the soil, and his yield potential was limited.

After three years, we dug this soil pit along the field to evaluate the changes. The photo shows that the corn roots extended down over 5 feet. Also, there was no evidence of compaction at any point in the top 5 feet of this soil. In general, Chandler Soil can remove about 6 inches of compaction each year.

We have seen changes like these in many farm fields over the years. Click here to see the latest on-farm results from a three-year study of Chandler Soil.

How do other biological soil treatments work?

Some biological soil treatments add a few species of microbes or microbial spores to supplement the native microbes already present in the field. This approach can work well in some circumstances, but the added microbes will not survive any better than the native microbes if the soil cannot support much biological activity. Also, there are over 300 species and subspecies of microbes important for crop production, so adding a few species may not contribute much. Other soil treatments will add molasses, other sugars, or humates, which can provide a short-term source of energy for the native microbes. However, feeding your microbes will not be effective if their activity is limited by other deficiencies in the soil.

What makes Chandler Soil different?

In contrast, Chandler Soil takes a broad spectrum approach and adds enzymes, amino acids, micronutrients and other biological compounds to the soil. The biological functions of soil microbes are regulated by enzymes, which are formed from proteins and other biochemicals. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and micronutrients are required to form enyzmes. If any of these components are missing, biological activity is restricted and soil health is limited. Chandler Soil includes all of these critical ingredients to multiply the beneficial soil microbe colonies and support their activity throughout the crop season.

Does the difference matter?

Beneficial soil microbes respond to slight changes in temperature, moisture and other environmental factors very rapidly. To measure the immediate impact of Chandler Soil on the microbes, we placed a treated sample in a Solvita IRTH sensor that measures the carbon dioxide (CO2) released from the soil sample every 20 seconds. This CO2 comes from the microbial activity, so more active soils generate more CO2. For comparison purposes, we also measured the CO2 released by an untreated soil sample plus samples treated with molasses and humic acid. The following figure shows the additional CO2 generated by the three treatments over and above the amount generated in the untreated sample.