--- In compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com, "somydi" <somydi_at_...> wrote:
In my research on tea recipe's I found that orchids do not benefit from myc=
orrhizal fungi
"somydi",
Orchids are highly dependent on their mycorrhizal fungi for their early sur=
vival so you need to recheck your information. You may have read that compo=
st tea is not an effective way of supplying mycorrhizae for orchids but tha=
t is a different matter. Orchid seeds are often germinated on sterile nutri=
ent agar where the agar serves as an artificial sugar source but in nature =
orchids are dependent on symbiotic fungi for a carbon source because they c=
an not produce sugars on their own. Orchid seedlings grow slowly in the soi=
l without leaves or chlorophyll for what may be several years before they e=
merge into the sunlight and become independent. Orchids also lack root hair=
s and presumably their mycorrhizae substitute for the role that root hairs =
normally play in other plants.
>From wikipedia:
"Orchid mycorrhizae are symbiotic relationships between the roots of plants=
of the family Orchidaceae and a variety of fungi. All orchids are myco-het=
erotrophic at some point in their life cycle. Orchid mycorrhizae are critic=
ally important during orchid germination, as orchid seed has virtually no e=
nergy reserve and obtains its carbon from the fungal symbiont. Many adult o=
rchids retain their fungal symbionts, although the benefits to the adult ph=
otosynthetic orchid and the fungus remain largely unexplored."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchid_mycorrhiza
Bob A.
Received on Sun Nov 06 2011 - 02:43:02 EST