RE: [compost_tea] Re: mycorrhizae questions

From: George and Paulette Mouchet <geomouchet_at_QNET.COM>
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 07:29:03 -0700

I picked up a Dr. Earth product guide. It looks like all their products
from topical organic fertilizers to potting soils now contain "seven [or
eight] champion strains of soil building microbes" and many of the products
now contain "ecto and endo mycorrhizae."

Paulette



-----Original Message-----
From: tomjasz [SMTP:tom_at_livesoil.com]
Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2003 9:23 AM
To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
Subject: [compost_tea] Re: mycorrhizae questions

Mycorrhizae is an envirnmental state created by the presence of
mycorrhizal fungus. Mycorrhizae is a beneficial fungus not a
bacteria. You need to match the mycorrhizae specie with the plant
that it associates with. That is why a multiple specie mycorrhizae
product is important to use. The guesswork has been taken out of the
process. Plant Success is good for 99% of all the plants ggrowing on
earth because of its blend of species and types(endo and ecto). The
commercial products do not work on the rhodedendrum or orchid plant
families.


tjasz responded,
For many of us it is important to address plants types directly. It
is not an efficient use of our $$'s to use a shotgun approach. I
suspect this will also be the case in farming. Why bother to pay for
and inoculate with species that will never associate?



Mycorrhizae spores can be harmed by pressure. Spryaing mycorrhizae
spores with pressurized equipment can harm the spores. Sure some may
make it through a sraying, but why take a chance when there are other
ways of delivery. The person that has sprayed turf with mycorrhizae
and ACT was most likely using low pressure equipment or may have seen
the results of the ACT and compost tea as opposed to the mycorrhizae.
Turf may be sprayed at vey low pressures such as a hose end sprayer
that does not clog. My suggestion is that it be aerated before
application and watered thoroughly after application. The spores must
make contact with the roots.


tjasz responded,
Yes of course it's lowered pressure. Remember we are already working
with lowered pressure to spray our ACT.



Why mess around mixing mycorrhizae with the compost tea, when there
are much easier methods of application. You must understand that it
is used to inoculate plant roots not the soil.


tjasz responded,
Why add the expense and labor of a second step? You must understand
we ARE inoculating the roots with ACT and by spraying.


It can be placed in
the soil so that when a root tip comes in cantact with a spore the
root tip enzymes activate the process of colonization. This
inoculation is done once to a plant in its lifetime,


tjasz responded,
Unless of course we are talking about a farming situation or rotating
of plants. There are alot of us here in those situations!



once a plant is
colonized, that's it, unless the plant is moved or if it is heavily
cultivated, it does not need to be done again. Disturbance of the
soil around a mycorhizal plant deeper than a few inches will harm the
fungus. This is by far the most beneficial product for the money, it
needs done once and the results are tremendous.


tjasz responded,
Try some ACT, many here have had far more dramatic results with ACT.
Please don't misunderstand my comment. I think and believe
mycorrhizae are critical to our success but that a statement
like "this is by far the most beneficial product for the money" is
more than a little dramatic and an overstated sales pitch.



The results are not
always in apparent as bigger is not always what you will see, it is
the general health of the plant that is the actual result.

Mycorrhizae has been here as long as soil has and if humans would not
have destroyed the natural occurance of it we would not have to
inocualate our plants.

Mycorrhizae is not already on the plants we buy.


tjasz responded,
Fortunately this blanket statement is no longer correct. Monrovia and
others are now learning to use the available biological methods.



Most growers plant
in soil less medium that is vertually sterile. The do not incorporate
the spores when they plant, they claim it adds to the expense of
growing. Commercial growers also use chemical fertilizers and
fungicides that can be harmful to the spores of mycorrhizae. Besides
moving or transplanting would most likely harm the fungus and we
would have to reincoulate any way.


tjasz responded,
Good point and an even better reason to NOT immediately drench new
planting with spores. We found that some plants were so polluted that
using ACT and waiting to incorporate mycorrhizae was saving $$.
Fortunately mycorrhizae are not affected by a number of common
fungicides.



Tha last thing in regard to sprating with compost tea, foliar
spraying and even soil drenching will have absolutely no effect on a
plant unless the spores work ther way to the root system.


tjasz responded,
Soil drenching is effective if we have developed the methodology to
get the spores in contact. In arboriculture and turf management we
core aerate and the ACT with spores moves very easily into the root
zone with a soil drench.



I hope I have answered a lot of the questions that have come up.

This product is available from www.growstuffplus.com or by calling
toll free 1-866-776-9951 from 9am - 5pm EST. Please remember that
this is an east coast company and there is a time difference from the
west coast. The website is always open.


tjasz responded,
Thanks





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Received on Mon Sep 29 2003 - 11:24:06 EDT

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