Really this is well established and 'old news', tell your paleo-agronos to emerge from the mists and do their homework:
Raven, Biology of Plants, 1986, p 526: Mycorrhizae and Plant Nutrition "Nutrient uptake from soil by most higher plants is greatly enhanced by naturally occurring mycorrhizal fungi associated with their root systems....Mycorrhizae are especially important in the absorption and transfer of phosphorus, but the increased absorption of zinc, manganese and copper has also been demonstrated. These nutrients are relatively immobile in soil, and depletion zones for these nutrients quickly develop around roots and root hairs. The hyphal network of mycorrhizae extends several centimeters out from colonized roots, thus exploiting a much larger volume of soil more efficiently.....In addition to this physical increase in absorptive surface area, mycorrhizal fungi may also be able to extract phosphorus from more dilute soil solutions and *utilize sources of phosphorus normally unavailable to plants*." It is a sign of our times that we don't realize that mycorrhizae are normally present and that only our abnormal activities, such as strip mining, use of chemicals, fungicides, fumigants, etc, makes the statement 'normally unavailable to plants' have any meaning, but there you go.... A Google search for microbe soil nutrient availability, especially for phosporus, will give you plenty of hits to take to the agronomists. By the way, there are plenty out there who just push the chemicals, eh? Still, remember to be diplomatic.... Frank Teuton > Question: Does anybody have references to peer-reviewed scientific academic > > literature which shows that microbes unlock "locked" minerals and nutrients? > > I have been talking to conventional agronomists who will not believe that > > this is possible.....
