Excessive fertilizer application aggravates the decline of soil organic matter and fertility and accelerates soil acidification. The diversity of microorganism species decreases. The excessive fertilizers reduced aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizae fungi etc.

Two symbiosies are very important for soil fertility. One is biological nitrogen fixation the presence of high nitrogen can effectively down regulate or turn this important mechanism off.

For phosphorus the presence of high levels in soil will lead to down regulation or turning off of mycorrhizal fungi.

The extension of the root systems of 92% of cultivated plants by mycorrhizal fungi can provide up 10,000 times the exploration and utilization of the soil surface compared to non mycorrhizal condition. Up to 20% of the exduate of the root systems stimulate the rhizosphere microbial community.

Agrichemical pesticides and fertilizers can militate against the soil microbial communities.

Increasing organic amendments and reducing tillage while increasing live covers are effective in increasing soil microbail activity and health.

In soils prone to acidification the use of acidic generating nitrogen as ammoniated fertilizer and sulfur can reduce soil microbes from acidification.

Soils with too akaline or acid conditions show hampered Phosphorus availability.

The concept of holistic organic regenerative agriculture is to feed the soil and not the plant directly. The health soil which is microbially active is like a mother of plants ensuring the plants babies are well tended.

A major problem with agrichemical agriculture is the probiotic roles of soil microbes are not cultivated nor appreciated fully. Probiosis is a preventative rather than curative approach to plant health.

In medicine the over reliance on symptomatic treatments show the same tendency that use causes an issue. When cures lead to issues it is deemed as iatrogenic disease.

The great Greek Hippocrates said before anything and first and foremost do no harm.

The disregard of soil biology and confidence above all in chemistry has shown a long term issue which is being divulged in the prevalence of unhealthy plant animals humans which is rooted in a eliminate the life strategy prevalent in agriculture and medicine.

Major symbiosis affected by agrichemicals are mycorrhizae and biological nitrogen fixation.

Some diagrams to visualize.