Re: [compost_tea] Armillaria

From: <soilfoodweb_at_aol.com>
Date: Tue, 01 Feb 2005 10:18:35 -0500
Hi Sandy -

You are dealing with a situation where there isn't enough diversity in the fungal community in that mulch.  For some reason, maybe the drought, maybe someting else, the habitat in the mulch is appropriate for just that few set of species.

Like that white layer of ashy antinobacteria in compost piles about 2 to 4 weeks into a thermal windrow compost operation. 

Conditions are selecting for just a limited set of species. 

Solution?  Get more fungal diversity back into the situation.  Maximize diversity to the greatest extent. 

So, lots of other composts, add some unusual food resources, in order to alter the habitat.

Maybe a tillage event would work best to start, because Armillaria is a fungus of old-growth conditions.  It doesn't like being turned and mixed, so tilling or raking or some other gentle mixing approach would be a way to un-lock the system from this one fungus' control.

Let me, and all the rest of us, know what you end up doing, and how well it works.  You'd know whether it worked or not by seeing other fungi in the mulch than the thick white strands. 

Oh, and there are MANY species which have thick white strands.  The SHEETING that Dana spoke of is the indication of Armillaria.  Sheets of thick white fungal hyphae is not good. 

Strands of latex-like threads is what we want to see.  Those are the good guys.  If you see something other than that, mix the compost, or soil or mulch, and inoculate with something that has the good critters in it. 
--
Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
SFI Corvallis, OR
SFI Port Jefferson, NY
SFI Lismore, NSW, Australia
SFI Cambridge, New Zealand
SFI Culiacan, Mexico
SFI Jerome, Idaho
SFI South Africa
http://www.soilfoodweb.com



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Received on Tue Feb 01 2005 - 11:15:52 EST

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