<http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/market-farming/2006-March/022602.html> >Marty Kraft wrote: >Has anyone had experience producing their own mycorrizal fungi >inoculant using the bahia grass method described in the New Farm >article referenced below? Would anyone recommend a place to purchase >the bahia grass, the spores, or both? Hi Marty - Here is the quick version in reply to "where" you can get Bahia grass seeds and mycorrhizal inoculants, with a few resources on methods. 1.1 Bahia grass Seed of Bahia grass is available in the southern states. It is sold as a turfgrass and for wildlife plantings. The 'Pensacola' cultivar has been mentioned in literature on mycorrhizal colonization. The Seedland, Inc. company in Florida sells a 5-lb bag of 'Pensacola' Bahia grass for $21.95... but of course there are other seed sources. Bahiagrass from Seedland http://www.seedland.com http://www.wildlifeseeds.com http://www.bahiagrass.com 1.2 For general cultural information on Bahia grass as a cover crop or forage crop, here are three Extension-style database entries. Bahia Grass, Paspalum notatum Cover Crops and Green Manures Database CTAHR, Univ of Hawaii at Manoa http://www2.ctahr.hawaii.edu/sustainag/CoverCrops/bahia_grass.asp FAO Grass and Pasture Crops Database: Bahia Grass, Paspalum notatum http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/AGP/AGPC/doc/GBASE/Data/pf000291.HTM Tropical Forages: Paspalum notatum http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Paspalum_notatum.htm 2.0 There are many commercial suppliers of mycorrhizal inoculum. Mycorrhizal inoculants usually contain spores and propagules of multiples species of Glomales, which is what you want. The ATTRA database for "Sources of Organic Fertilizers and Amendments" lists 31 suppliers that sell mycorrhizal inoculants. Most suppliers have web pages where you can read about their mycorrhizal products. Sources of Organic Fertilizers and Amendments ATTRA http://www.attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/orgfert.php Separately, I will send you my resource list, "Symbiotic Mycorrhizal Fungi: Quarterback of the Microbial Herd" which provides a listing of mycorrhizal inoculant suppliers as well as educational resources. 3.0 There are several approaches to on-farm propagation of mycorrhizal fungal. The one that NewFarm.org refers to deals with research by Rodale Institute in collaboration with Dr. David Douds with the USDA-ARS Eastern Regional Research Center in Pennsylvania. The following journal article in Canadian Journal of Plant Science was published in 2005. It reviews some of the on-farm methods in practice on a worldwide basis, then it summarizes the USDA-Rodale approach by Douds, et al. Douds, D.D., Nagahashi, G., Pfeffer, P.E., Kayser, W.M., Reider, C. 2005. On-Farm Production and Utilization of Mycorrhizal Fungus Inoculum. Canadian Journal of Plant Science. Vol. 85. pp. 15-21. Normally, web access to Canadian Journal of Plant Science is restricted to fee-based subscribers, such as university library systems. But if you type the following into Google, the third hit on the display page provides free acceess to the PDF article, at least for the time being. [Douds, Nagahashi, Pfeffer On-Farm Production and Utilization of Mycorrhizal Fungus Inoculum] This paper is helpful because it provides essential details on raising mycorrhizal inoculated Bahia grass in a nursery mix, using a 1:4 vol/vol mixture of compost and vermiculite. Once the colonized Bahia grass roots fill the nursery mix, you have a giant volume of mycorrhizal fungal inoculum containing infected roots, external fungal hyphae, and spores. In addition, you should add the following 4-page manual to your mycorrhizal fungal inoculum toolbox. "Manual on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Production and Inoculation Techniques" College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), Univ of Hawaii at Manoa http://www2.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/SCM-5.pdf Fyi, a second on-farm approach is to raise mycorrhizal host crops in rotation, thus building mycorrhizal fungal spores and propagules in the soil. These host plants can double as cover crops and as a biological-inoculating green fallow. In addition to Bahia grass, other crops that serve as host plants for mycorrhizal fungal increase (in the field or in pot culture, variously) include sudan grass, sorghum, corn, carrots, white clover, sunflower, and barley. In addition, several greenhouse suppliers now provide mycorrhizal- inoculant containing potting mixes, ready-to-go. So that is probably the very easist way to get started with transplant production integrated with mycorrhizal inoculation on your farm. I hear good things from growers who are using these mycorrhizal-mixes. Hope this helps. Steve Diver http://www.attra.ncat.orgTitle: [Market-farming] Producing Mycorrhizal Fungi Inoculant
[Market-farming] Producing Mycorrhizal Fungi InoculantSteve Diver steved at ncat.orgMon Mar 20 19:32:25 EST 2006
>Marty Kraft wrote: >Has anyone had experience producing their own mycorrizal fungi >inoculant using the bahia grass method described in the New Farm >article referenced below? Would anyone recommend a place to purchase >the bahia grass, the spores, or both? Hi Marty - Here is the quick version in reply to "where" you can get Bahia grass seeds and mycorrhizal inoculants, with a few resources on methods. 1.1 Bahia grass Seed of Bahia grass is available in the southern states. It is sold as a turfgrass and for wildlife plantings. The 'Pensacola' cultivar has been mentioned in literature on mycorrhizal colonization. The Seedland, Inc. company in Florida sells a 5-lb bag of 'Pensacola' Bahia grass for $21.95... but of course there are other seed sources. Bahiagrass from Seedland http://www.seedland.com http://www.wildlifeseeds.com http://www.bahiagrass.com 1.2 For general cultural information on Bahia grass as a cover crop or forage crop, here are three Extension-style database entries. Bahia Grass, Paspalum notatum Cover Crops and Green Manures Database CTAHR, Univ of Hawaii at Manoa http://www2.ctahr.hawaii.edu/sustainag/CoverCrops/bahia_grass.asp FAO Grass and Pasture Crops Database: Bahia Grass, Paspalum notatum http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/FAOINFO/AGRICULT/AGP/AGPC/doc/GBASE/Data/pf000291.HTM Tropical Forages: Paspalum notatum http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Paspalum_notatum.htm 2.0 There are many commercial suppliers of mycorrhizal inoculum. Mycorrhizal inoculants usually contain spores and propagules of multiples species of Glomales, which is what you want. The ATTRA database for "Sources of Organic Fertilizers and Amendments" lists 31 suppliers that sell mycorrhizal inoculants. Most suppliers have web pages where you can read about their mycorrhizal products. Sources of Organic Fertilizers and Amendments ATTRA http://www.attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/orgfert.php Separately, I will send you my resource list, "Symbiotic Mycorrhizal Fungi: Quarterback of the Microbial Herd" which provides a listing of mycorrhizal inoculant suppliers as well as educational resources. 3.0 There are several approaches to on-farm propagation of mycorrhizal fungal. The one that NewFarm.org refers to deals with research by Rodale Institute in collaboration with Dr. David Douds with the USDA-ARS Eastern Regional Research Center in Pennsylvania. The following journal article in Canadian Journal of Plant Science was published in 2005. It reviews some of the on-farm methods in practice on a worldwide basis, then it summarizes the USDA-Rodale approach by Douds, et al. Douds, D.D., Nagahashi, G., Pfeffer, P.E., Kayser, W.M., Reider, C. 2005. On-Farm Production and Utilization of Mycorrhizal Fungus Inoculum. Canadian Journal of Plant Science. Vol. 85. pp. 15-21. Normally, web access to Canadian Journal of Plant Science is restricted to fee-based subscribers, such as university library systems. But if you type the following into Google, the third hit on the display page provides free acceess to the PDF article, at least for the time being. [Douds, Nagahashi, Pfeffer On-Farm Production and Utilization of Mycorrhizal Fungus Inoculum] This paper is helpful because it provides essential details on raising mycorrhizal inoculated Bahia grass in a nursery mix, using a 1:4 vol/vol mixture of compost and vermiculite. Once the colonized Bahia grass roots fill the nursery mix, you have a giant volume of mycorrhizal fungal inoculum containing infected roots, external fungal hyphae, and spores. In addition, you should add the following 4-page manual to your mycorrhizal fungal inoculum toolbox. "Manual on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus Production and Inoculation Techniques" College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR), Univ of Hawaii at Manoa http://www2.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/SCM-5.pdf Fyi, a second on-farm approach is to raise mycorrhizal host crops in rotation, thus building mycorrhizal fungal spores and propagules in the soil. These host plants can double as cover crops and as a biological-inoculating green fallow. In addition to Bahia grass, other crops that serve as host plants for mycorrhizal fungal increase (in the field or in pot culture, variously) include sudan grass, sorghum, corn, carrots, white clover, sunflower, and barley. In addition, several greenhouse suppliers now provide mycorrhizal- inoculant containing potting mixes, ready-to-go. So that is probably the very easist way to get started with transplant production integrated with mycorrhizal inoculation on your farm. I hear good things from growers who are using these mycorrhizal-mixes. Hope this helps. Steve Diver http://www.attra.ncat.org
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