Subject: FW: Helping Beneficial Fungi Work & FWD: Boost yields by nurturing beneficial soil fungi

From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 14:00:27 -0700

----------
From: ARS News Service <[email-masked]>
Reply-To: ARS News Service <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 11:49:55 -0400
To: ARS News subscriber <[email-masked]>
Subject: Helping Beneficial Fungi Work

STORY LEAD:
Helping Beneficial Fungi Work

___________________________________________

ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
David Elstein, (301) 504-1654, [email-masked]
May 6, 2004
___________________________________________

Certain fertilizers can actually inhibit beneficial, naturally
occurring fungi that help plants use water and nutrients while
suppressing diseases, according to an Agricultural Research Service
scientist studying these beneficial root-dwelling fungi.

ARS plant pathologist Robert Linderman at the Horticultural Crops
Research Laboratory in Corvallis, Ore., is studying how these fungi,
called mycorrhizae, interact with fertilizers and other soil amendments
that have been commonly used in agriculture over the past half century.

Linderman is one of only a few scientists studying how mycorrhizae
affect the nutrition and health of nursery crops. He has measured the
level of mycorrhizal colonization of roots to see whether various
materials added to soil help or inhibit fungal growth. He studied a
range of commercial fertilizers and found that organic ones are usually
compatible with mycorrhizae, while phosphorus-rich inorganic fertilizers
usually inhibit them.

He also looked at peat moss, a popular additive to potting mixes used
to grow nursery crops. He found that in some cases it helps mycorrhizal
associations, while in others it hinders the fungi. Coir, a coconut
fiber that has become a popular potting mix additive, does not inhibit
mycorrhizae, but it may reduce growth of some plants.

Linderman is currently studying various types of composts to see what,
if any, effect they'll have on the establishment of mycorrhizae. His
initial finding is that some composts may suppress the fungi because of
high phosphorus levels.

After spending years researching these important fungi, Linderman
believes that he will now be able to advise growers as to which potting
mix additives will help establish mycorrhizae that can enhance plant
growth and health.

Read more about this research in the May 2004 issue of Agricultural
Research magazine, available online at:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/may04/fungi0504.htm

ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research
agency.

___________________________________________

* This is one of the news reports that ARS Information distributes to
subscribers on weekdays.
* Start, stop or change an e-mail subscription at
www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/subscribe.htm
* [email-masked] | www.ars.usda.gov/news
* Phone (301) 504-1638 | fax (301) 504-1648
--------------------------------------------

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Cultivating diversity underground for better yields above
          http://www.newfarm.org/depts/NFfield_trials/0903/daviddouds.shtml
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 23:24:01 -0700

http://www.newfarm.org/depts/NFfield_trials/0903/daviddouds.shtml

Cultivating diversity underground for better yields above
Research at The Rodale Institute® demonstrates how sustainable farming practices can boost yields by nurturing beneficial soil fungi.

By Laura Sayre

About this series:

As some of you may know, The Rodale Institute®, which publishes The New Farm®, is home to the longest running field trials in the country 
comparing organic and conventional systems of farming called The Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trial® (FST). The data from that 23 years 
of research is a real treasure trove of insight into the economic, ecological and agronomic benefits of organic farming.

In addition to this long-running Farming Systems Trial, we have a variety of other research in progress at The Institute. David Douds, as 
you’ll read in this story, has been studying soil fungi here at The Institute’s research farm for 15 years. We’re engaged in no-till 
research, weed research, compost tea research, composting research, water quality research, and much more.

Until now, much of the light we’re generating here on our research farm has been hidden under the proverbial barrel, but we’re taking off 
the barrel and busting it up for firewood. We’re going let the light of the amazing research being done here shine on farmers, consumers and 
environmental activities.

Over the next year we’ll be running a series of stories, about one a month, on the significance of our research ... and its practical 
applications. That includes a few stories on equipment construction—a front-mounted roller for no-till, and a compost turner converted from 
a junked 18-wheeler.

So sit tight, and be prepared to be amazed, starting with David Douds’ discoveries about how you can increase vegetable yields by 50 percent 
using homemade fungal inoculants.

Enjoy,

Chris Hill
Executive Editor

p.s. Interested in hearing more about how you can take part in the mycorrhizae revolution? Click here and let us know. Send your name, phone 
number and e-mail address with your note so we can follow-up with you.

     "Overall, Douds’ work suggests that a small amount of mixed MF inoculant can be substituted for a large amount of fertilizer--with no 
loss of yield, greatly reduced environmental impact, and lower production costs."

     Home-grown mycorrhizal inoculum can be produced at a fraction of the cost of purchasing commercial mixes. "I've done some preliminary 
calculations," says Douds. "The on-farm system produces 100 million propagules for approximately $50, not counting the cost of the farmer's 
labor, which is fairly minimal. To purchase 100 million propagules as listed on the bag of some commercial mixes would cost anywhere from 
$8,000 to $40,000."

FACT SHEET: Mycorrhizae

Above: USDA soil microbiologist David Douds with a carrot root-mycorrhizal fungi culture. Under the leadership of Dr. Douds, field trials 
have shown yield gains of as much as 50% in the presence of healthy mycorrhizae populations. Now Douds is developing a practical, low-cost 
method for on-farm production of mycorrhizal soil innoculant, promising higher yields with lower nutrient inputs. (Photo by Peggy Greb, 
courtesy of the Agricultural Research Service Photo Unit.)

September 29, 2003: You've read the amazing facts and figures: one teaspoon of healthy topsoil can contain millions of individual 
microorganisms, all playing a part in the functioning of the soil ecosystem. But how much do you really know about the action of those 
diverse species and how to maximize their presence in your own fields?

Ongoing research at The Rodale Institute® sheds light on one important component of the soil community--mycorrhizal fungi--and its impact on 
agricultural production. Under the leadership of Dr. David Douds, a soil microbiologist with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service, field 
trials have shown yield gains of as much as 50% in the presence of healthy mycorrhizae populations. Now Douds is developing a practical, 
low-cost method for on-farm production of mycorrhizal soil inoculant, promising higher yields with lower nutrient inputs.

A mycorrhizal primer

Mycorrhizae are soil-dwelling fungi that live in and around the roots of plants ('myco-rrhizae' means 'fungus-root'). The fungi and the 
plants form mutually beneficial associations in which the fungi receive carbohydrates from the plants and the plants receive nutrients and 
other benefits from the fungi. Since the first mycorrhizae species were described by a German botanist in the 1880s, researchers have 
discovered that approximately 80% of all land plants form mycorrhizal associations. The relationship is so widespread, in fact, that it is 
sometimes referred to as 'the Universal Symbiosis,' and is believed to have played a key role in the evolutionary transition from aquatic to 
terrestrial plant forms.

Today, scientists divide mycorrhizae into two major types: endomycorrhizae, which penetrate and colonize plant roots, and ectomycorrhizae, 
which form sheaths around plant roots. Whereas ectomycorrhizal relationships tend to be highly specialized--with some 6000 fungal species 
worldwide associated with tree species of the oak, beech, and pine families, among others--endomycorrhizal associations are more generalized 
as well as more widespread, with fewer than 150 fungal species opportunistically colonizing the roots of the vast majority of terrestrial 
plant families. Ectomycorrhizal inoculants are already widely used in commercial forestry, but the possibility of developing endomycorrhizal 
inoculants for production agriculture is a more recent idea.

"These are beneficial soil fungi that colonize the roots of plants and help them take up phosphorus" and other immobile soil nutrients, such 
as zinc and copper, Douds explains. "The fungus colonizes the root and it also grows out into the soil; the part of the fungus that's in the 
soil acts as an extension of the root system, to explore a greater volume of soil and take up nutrients and bring them back into the root."

In addition to facilitating nutrient uptake, some mycorrhizae secrete a gluey substance, called glomalin, which helps develop soil structure 
and soil aggregation; others may help plants fight disease. Yet because endomycorrhizae are 'obligate symbionts'--they must have living 
plant roots to colonize in order to complete their life cycle--their numbers will decline under conventional agricultural monocultures, 
which have living crop covers fewer months of the year than organic rotations. The drop in yields typically seen after the first year of 
cultivation on virgin prairie or forest soils is probably attributable in part to the loss of native mycorrhizae, Douds says.

Fifteen years of research prove benefits of fungi

Douds has been conducting research in collaboration with The Rodale Institute since 1989, his first year at the Agricultural Research 
Service's Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, on the outskirts of Philadelphia. "Some employees of The Institute farm came down to 
our research center as part of a kind of an interagency show-and-tell about research programs and facilities and what all we could do to 
help each other," Douds recalls. "Rhonda Janke"--The Institute's research agronomist at the time--"gave a presentation about The Rodale 
Institute Farming Systems Trial," a side-by-side comparison of organic and conventional production systems. Douds recognized it as a great 
opportunity to study endomycorrhizal associations.

"Later that year I started sampling, and right off learned that [the soils under] the conventional farming systems had fewer mycorrhizal 
fungi than the soils under the low-input farming systems. So right away we all got excited and we branched out from there."

Since that first season, Douds' work at The Rodale Institute’s 333-acre experimental farm has progressed in three overlapping phases:

In the first phase, from 1989 to 1995, Douds and his team surveyed native mycorrhizal fungi (MF) populations at Rodale and examined the 
impact of different agricultural practices--including tillage regimes, crop rotations, and soil amendments--on those populations. The second 
phase, which is still ongoing, looks at the utilization of MF by crop plants, comparing yields in the presence and absence of different MF 
species. The third phase seeks to apply those findings by devising a simple, on-farm MF inoculum production system, so that farmers can 
harness the benefits of endomycorrhizae without spending lots of money on commercial mixes. (Commercial products already on the market 
include Bio/Organics Endomycorrhizal Inoculant [$79.95 for 3 lbs, labeled to treat 500 plants], Plant Success Mycorrhizae Tablets [$19.95 
for 100 tablets, labeled to treat 50 plants up to 1 ft tall], and Earthroots VAM Fungi by First Fruits LLC [$15 for 3 lbs, labeled to treat 
200 seedlings].)

On-farm production of mycorrhizal inoculant in test enclosures at The Rodale Institute’s farm. Douds chose bahiagrass as a host plant 
"because it's a tropical grass and the first frost will kill the shoot growth"--so it won't escape to become a new local weed and won't 
harbor any pests or pathogens that might affect either resident crops or northern native grasses.

Agronomic practices that boost—or depress—
mycorrhizal levels

Although the first phase of Douds's research found larger and more diverse MF populations in organically-managed soils than in 
conventionally-managed ones, it also revealed how specific agronomic practices can boost or depress MF levels.

"Over-wintering cover crops. . . are very beneficial to mycorrhizal fungi," Douds notes, whereas "tillage disrupts the mycorrhizal fungi in 
the soil and serves to decrease the initial colonization of the plants." Based on these findings, Douds emphasizes that all farmers, organic 
or conventional, can take steps to nurture the MF already present in their fields: reduce tillage, he says, use fungicides sparingly, 
and--most important--maximize cover cropping. "Over-wintering cover crops give the MF a host plant to colonize when there's no cash crop 
growing on the soil," Douds explains.

In the coldest part of the year the MF go dormant, but during warm spells in early spring and late fall, the MF will try to grow, and can 
exhaust their reserves if they find no plant hosts. "During these periods. . . the fungus is still respiring, it's still burning up its 
carbohydrate storage in the spores, it's burning up the lipids that were stored," leaving it "less viable when the time comes finally for 
the crop plant to be present." A cover crop or even just a weedy fallow will maintain healthy MF populations, which can then benefit the 
cash crop coming on to the field.

Crop rotations are another factor to consider, since a handful of crop species belong to plant families that do not form mycorrhizal 
associations (said to be 'non-mycotrophic'), including the Brassicaceae (rape, broccoli, cabbage, turnips, etc), the Chenopodiaceae (beets, 
spinach), and the Polygonaceae (buckwheat). Not only will these crops not benefit from the presence of MF, but MF levels in the soil will be 
depressed after these crops are grown, potentially showing an effect on any mycotrophic crops which follow.

Potatoes and peppers inoculated with mycorrhizae get yield boosts of up to 50 percent!

In the second phase of his research, looking at the impact of MF on crop yields, Douds began inoculating plants in the greenhouse and then 
tracking their performance in the field.

"We had some plants that were inoculated with a control mix with no inoculum, another one inoculated with a mix of mycorrhizal fungi, and 
another inoculated with just one species commonly present in commercial inoculum," Douds explains. "We transplanted them into the Compost 
Utilization Trial,"--another ongoing experiment at The Rodale Institute--"and we found over the course of the 3-year experiment that the 
mixture of mycorrhizal fungi increased the yield of marketable-sized peppers up to a maximum of 34% over the control. Last year we tried 
inoculating potatoes, and we got up to a 50% increase over the controls."

David Douds and a research intern dig potatoes in this season's mycorrhizal test plot at the Rodale Experimental Farm. In last year's 
trials, potatoes grown with mycorrhizal fungi showed yield increases of as much as 50%. Other crops known to respond dramatically to 
mycorrhizal colonization include citrus, onion, and strawberries.

This year they are repeating the potato trial, measuring yields under four different treatments: one with no added MF; one with a 
commercially available MF; one with a mixed MF inoculant grown in a leaf compost and vermiculite medium; and one with a mixed MF inoculant 
grown in a dairy manure compost and vermiculite medium. Overall, this work suggests that a small amount of mixed MF inoculant can be 
substituted for a large amount of fertilizer--with no loss of yield, greatly reduced environmental impact, and lower production costs.

One unexpected finding of Douds' work at Rodale "is that mycorrhizae can be used to increase the yield of crops even in soils that are very 
high in phosphorous." Some of the soils at the Rodale Farm which have been heavily composted, Douds notes, "have available P in excess of 
300 parts/million"--well above the level at which mycorrhizal responses are typically seen, around 20-50 ppm available P. "The 
generalization would be that P as high as 300 would be a situation in which the plant can take up all the P that it needs by itself without 
relying on the mycorrhizal fungi." Douds believes that at high nutrient levels, some of the other benefits of MF--enhanced disease 
resistance, improved soil aggregation and better water relations--could be showing an effect.

Build your own on-farm inoculum production system

The third phase of Douds' research at Rodale Farm focuses on developing an inexpensive, practicable system for on-farm production of 
mycorrhizae inoculant. As obligate symbionts, endomycorrhizae have so far resisted attempts to create what scientists call axenic (or 
isolated, single-species) cultures--they can only be grown in the presence of a host plant. Douds' system works within this constraint, 
using bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum), a tropical grass native to the southeastern US, as a host.

A myccorhizae factory: The basic procedure is for the farmer to construct a simple enclosure out of landscape fabric, fill it with a mixture 
of compost and vermiculite, and then transplant pre-colonized bahiagrass seedlings into the mixture. Over the course of the growing season 
the bahiagrass spreads within the enclosure and the mycorrhizal fungi spread and reproduce along with it. When the grass dies back in the 
winter, the farmer is left with a concentrated mycorrhizal inoculant that can be incorporated into his or her potting mix when starting 
seedlings in the greenhouse the following spring.

The basic procedure is for the farmer to construct a simple enclosure out of landscape fabric (75 cm square and 20 cm high), fill it with a 
mixture of compost and vermiculite, and then transplant pre-colonized bahiagrass seedlings into the mixture. Over the course of the growing 
season the bahiagrass spreads within the enclosure and the mycorrhizal fungi spread and reproduce along with it. When the grass dies back in 
the winter, the farmer is left with a concentrated mycorrhizal inoculant that can be incorporated into his or her potting mix when starting 
seedlings in the greenhouse the following spring.

This year, Douds gave inoculated bahiagrass seedlings and other materials to a few Pennsylvania farmers to see how the method fares in the 
real-life conditions of farming. Meanwhile, Douds has 12 soil enclosures growing at the Rodale Farm in an experimental grid designed to 
identify optimum growth media.

Douds chose three different kinds of compost--yard-clippings compost, controlled microbial compost, and dairy manure-leaf compost--and then 
diluted each kind with vermiculite at four different ratios, ranging from 1 part compost:2 parts vermiculite, down to 1 part compost:49 
parts vermiculite. Each soil enclosure, finally, has nine separate sections, three with no inoculant and three each with two different 
mixtures of MF.

At the end of the season, says Douds, "we'll sample the mixtures from within each enclosure, quantify the inoculum production, and then 
hopefully develop a prediction formula, where the optimum ratio [of compost to vermiculite] is a function" of the nutrient analysis and 
other properties of the compost. All the farmer will need to do, then, is get the nutrient analysis of his or her compost, plug it in to the 
formula, and find the optimal ratio of compost to vermiculite to use for his or her farm.

"On-farm methods have several advantages over commercial inoculants," Douds explains. In the first place, whereas commercial formulae 
typically only contain a single MF species (frequently Glomus intraradices), Douds' method yields a diverse inoculum containing many MF 
species. This is crucial because MF show significant 'functional diversity'--"some are good at holding the soil together, some are good at 
gathering nutrients," others help fight disease.

A second, related advantage is that by mixing in some soil from a nearby woodland, prairie, or hedgerow, the farmer can use Douds's system 
"to produce the native or indigenous strains of mycorrhizal fungi. . . the ones that are already adapted to his [or her] particular soil 
conditions." This could be especially important on problem soils, such as those with high aluminum, say, or high or low pH, where 
commercially-produced fungi may not survive.

Growing fungi in real life: David Douds with one of his on-farm mycorrhizal fungi production systems at Shenk's Berry Farm in Lititz, PA. 
John Shenk, the cooperating farmer, grows 5 acres of strawberries, 3 acres of raspberries, and 10 acres of mixed vegetables in a low-input 
system, selling on-farm and at the Clark Park Farmers Market in Philadelphia. "We try to farm thoughtfully," says Shenk. "And do lots of 
reading and research to keep improving our farming methods." Next season, Shenk will incorporate the soil from the enclosure into his 
greenhouse potting mix.

Last but not least, home-grown mycorrhizal inoculum can be produced at a fraction of the cost of purchasing commercial mixes. "I've done 
some preliminary calculations," says Douds. "The on-farm system produces 100 million propagules [in a single enclosure] for approximately 
$50, not counting the cost of the farmer's labor, which is fairly minimal. To purchase 100 million propagules as listed on the bag of some 
commercial mixes would cost anywhere from $8,000 to $40,000." Commercial inoculants are sold in a peat- or vermiculite-based medium, so 
purchasers have to buy (and pay to have shipped) a large volume of material to get a small number of viable MF propagules--another reason it 
makes more sense to grow your own.

At the moment, Douds' system (like commercial MF inoculant) is suitable for two types of farms: vegetable growers on any scale who produce 
their own seedlings and can mix the inoculum into their potting mix; and smaller, labor-intensive farms or urban gardens where "the inoculum 
can be incorporated by hand, directly into the planting furrow or planting hole." Farmers growing field crops on a large scale can only take 
advantage of MF inoculants if they want to try them out in a relatively small area. "Delivery of MF inoculum to the field is a problem," 
acknowledges Douds. "Commercial companies are working on this for their particular inocula." He smiles. We can only hope that he will be too.

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---

From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 06 May 2004 14:00:27 -0700

----------

STORY LEAD:

ARS News Service

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Cultivating diversity underground for better yields above
          http://www.newfarm.org/depts/NFfield_trials/0903/daviddouds.shtml
Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2004 23:24:01 -0700

By Laura Sayre

About this series:

Enjoy,

Chris Hill
Executive Editor

FACT SHEET: Mycorrhizae

A mycorrhizal primer

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       FARM LOCATOR™

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CAST YOUR VOTE NOW

Stay Up-to-Date –

ACTION ALERTS

Share Your Stories