RE: [compost_tea] Re: killer fungi !

From: Tom Jaszewski (tomj@livesoil.com)
Date: Mon Mar 03 2003 - 22:48:09 EST


I have used Bio-Trek 22G (I think this was isolated at Cornell?) which
contains a strain of the beneficial soil fungus, Trichoderma
harzianum, prior to our CT program. IMHO CT and its diversity have been far
more effective even in a "not so sustainable" methodology.
It seems to me we should be focusing on diversity rather than trying to
isolate specific antagonists. That's what biological scientists have been
focusing so hard on, how they can isolate, grow, and maximize profits. They'
re missing the paradigm.

I remember some years ago when we had a huge outbreak of root knot nematodes
in a multi million-dollar palm population. I read In "Common Sense Pest
Control" that an isolate had been found in tomato roots that controlled the
beasties. I called the research project in New South Wales. Yes the fungi
existed but no scientist had yet figured out how to produce it. As for me I'
ll leave the monocultures to the scientists and work on natures diversity.


Tom Jaszewski
www.livesoil.com
702-595-7012

-----Original Message-----
From: laura_s@vaxxine.com [mailto:laura_s@vaxxine.com]
Sent: Monday, March 03, 2003 6:39 PM
To: compost_tea@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [compost_tea] Re: killer fungi !


Trichoderma species are strongly antagonistic to other fungi. The exact
nature of this relationship is still not clear, but it appears that they
kill other fungi with a toxin and then consume them using a combination of
lytic enzymes. This suggests they are actually microbial predators.

.






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