Mycorrhizal Fungi For Sale – Beneficial Mycorrhizae
Mycorrhizal Fungi for Sale. Ultimately, what every grower wants is productive, healthy plants. To achieve this you need healthy, fertile soil. A diverse population of beneficial soil microbes is a must for soil fertility.
Here’s we’ll talk about Mycorrhiza, Mycos, and their importance to healthy soil and thriving plants.
Endomycorrhizal fungi have several important benefits for plants. In fact, mycorrhizal fungi are a type of biofertilizer. Here’s a list of some of the most mycorrhizal benefits.
- Enhanced water and enhanced nutrient uptake.
- Improved plant health and stress tolerance.
- Reduced need for fertilizers.
- Increased drought resistance and reduction of irrigation requirements.
- Higher transplant success rate.
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What Beneficial Fungi Do For Your Soil
So, all of the benefits listed above sound great – but how do the mycorrhizal fungi achieve this? Well it’s an interesting story.
One type of Mycorrhizal fungi, called endomycorrhizal fungi, form a physical connection with the plant’s roots, entering the cell wall of the roots. This allows the fungi to pass nutrients and water directly to the plant. In effect, the fungi greatly increases the surface area of the plants root system. This ensures a much more efficient water and nutrient collection system, reducing the need for water and fertilizers.
Enhanced Water and Nutrient Uptake
Mycorrhizal fungi effectively increase the surface area of the root system by several hundred percent. This increases both water capture and nutrient capture.
Not only do mycorrhizal fungi increase collection of nutrients, they also release chemicals into the soil. These chemicals help capture phosphorus and tightly bound compounds such as iron and calcium. Once these compounds are captured by the fungi, they are quickly and efficiently transferred to the plant through the fungal hyphae.
What’s in it For the Fungi?
The plant and the mycorrhizal fungi form a symbiotic relationship. This means that BOTH parties benefit. We’ve talked about the plants’ benefit. What’s in it for the fungi?
The benefit for the fungi is food. Lots and lots of food. By some estimates, 50% of the carbohydrates (sugar produced by photosynthesis) produced by the plant are released into the soil and then utilized by the fungi.
When is it Right to Add Beneficial Mycorrhiza?
We see the best results from adding Endomycorrhizae when:
- The soil has been treated repeatedly with pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. All of these “cides” take a toll on the beneficial fungi and any other microbes in the soil.
- Soil that has been tilled, compacted or water logged. These soils are often deficient in mycorrhae so we need to add them back.
- Potting soil, top soil, or compost. Many of these types of soils have never had a plant in them. So there are no mycorrhizal fungi present.
- Here’s a list of plant types that benefit from endomycorrhizal fungi.
Different Types of Mycorrhiza Products – Mycorrhizal Fungi for Sale
If you have done any looking around on the internet, you have noticed a number of mycorrhizal products. Some contain only mycorrhizae and some contain Trichoderma and/or beneficial bacteria.
For my money, I prefer stand alone products. In other words, products that just contain mycorrhizal fungi. There are some great benefits for plants from Trichoderma and beneficial soil bacteria, but let’s get them from products that only contain them.
Frankly, the different types of biofertilizers don’t mix great and have different shelf lives. So lets, buy products that only contain mycorrhizae. I have been in this business 30 years. I have yet to see a combination product that works as well as a stand alone product.
Endo, Ecto, Spores, Propagules – What does it All Mean?
There are a lot of terms when dealing with Mycorrhizae. Let’s try to make sense of the most common ones.
EndoMycorrhizal Fungi – These guys are the hero of our story. About 90% of all plants have symbiotic relationships with Endo. Almost all garden vegetables and crop are in this category. Here’s a list of crops and plants that benefit from EndoMycorrhizal Fungi.
When looking at products, make sure you check out the endos that are in the package.
EctoMycorrhizal Fungi. I don’t mean to slight ecto. They are mainly used in trees such as conifers and oaks.
Many products list HUGH numbers of ectos. The problem is that Ectomycorrhizal Fungi won’t help your garden or your farm.
Spores – Most of the time the most important part of the mycorrhizal products that you are buying is the listing of how many spores the package contains. The spores (think seed) will germinate and produce the beneficial fungi.
Your product doesn’t list spores? Well I would do a little research and check with the manufacturer. The best way to compare “apples to apples” is by comparing spores per pound.
Propagules – Some products only list a propagule count. Propagules can be root fragments and other parts of the fungi. Propagules typically have a much shorter shelf life.
In summary, make sure you know the spore count of your mycorrhizal product. That’s the best way to compare and make sure you’re getting a good product.
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Mycorrhiza Application
Mycorrhizal applications are only effective in the root zone or rhizosphere. So foliar applications, spraying the product on the leaves, make little sense.
The idea is to get the fungi into the soil as early in the planting season as possible. This enables the beneficial fungi to establish themselves in the root zone or rhizosphere.
For established plants, mix mycorrhizae with water creating a liquid. You can then spray this liquid onto the soil. The water will work as a carrier and take the fungi down to the roots.
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Have other questions about mycorrhizal fungi. Feel free to contact me at Admin@BioAgproducts.com.
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