Re: [compost_tea] adding VAM ?

From: Thomas Giannou <thomas_at_tandjenterprises.com>
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2003 03:23:14 -0700

Hi Laura,

I got a good chuckle out reading how far off base Tom J., was in his opinio=
n about AM fungi with grapes. I know Mike Amaranthas and he's a personable=
 guy, but his research has been mainly dealing with ectomycorrhizal fungi w=
hich have little to do with benefiting grape plants. Mike does make a rath=
er strange endomycorrhizal fungi inoculum in tablet form. A local mycologi=
st at Eastern Washington University who's specialty is working with AM fung=
i tested those tablets and found little to do with endomycorrhizal fungi an=
d a lot to do with fertilizer. Dr. Ted Saint John would have fun ranting a=
nd raving about that one. :)

It looked like Tom J was trying to say there was a specific species of myco=
rrhizal fungi that works with grape plants. To be blunt, that's ridiculous=
. Any of the 56 odd glomus species of endomycorrhizal fungi will colonize =
grape plants. When you get into endomycorrhizal fungi and try to say that =
only a specific species will benefit grape plants or another specific speci=
es will benefit a tomato plant, etc., that claim is outside the realm of kn=
own research on the topic of endomycorrhizal fungi. It's fairly safe to sa=
y that endomycorrhizal fungi species are not plant species specific. In fa=
ct research states that under the right biological conditions AM fungi will=
 grow into the roots of all terrestrial plants. To turn that around a bit,=
 it is also safe to say that grape plants are NOT benefited only by a singl=
e species of endomycorrhizal fungi. That's a claim out of the past that si=
mply doesn't stand up to research findings or reality out in the soils.

Another misconception about AM fungi is how to evaluate it with a given pla=
nt. I can put AM fungi spores, hyphae, and host plant root fragments conta=
ining spores and hyphae on or near the roots of a grape plant in clay soils=
 and have the AM fungi colonize the roots of that plant. The germination o=
f AM fungi is triggered by a compound in the root exudate. To look at the =
roots and see that mycorrhizal fungi is present, is a very poor way to eval=
uate the effectiveness of AM fungi... especially in clay soils. In clay so=
ils, test vs controls do not show much difference in plant performance. Th=
e reason centers around the availability of nutrients to uptake by the hyph=
ae of the AM fungi. Just like putting compost tea onto soils where there i=
sn't food for the bacteria and fungi to process is a fairly certain path to=
 failure, putting AM fungi on grape plants in clay soils where food is not=
 being made available is a fairly certain path to not seeing much improveme=
nt in plant performance. That is the case especially in clay soils rather =
than in loamy type soils. When food is available, the higher the colonizat=
ion levels of certain species of AM fungi, the better the plant performance=
 characteristics will be exhibited, but higher levels of root colonization =
in clay soils does not equate to better plant performance because of the lo=
w amount of food being made available in typical clay soils.

There is a strong synergistic relationship between bacteria and AM fungi in=
 the soils which is tied to the amount of food being made available by the =
bacteria to the AM fungi. We can put CT on clay soils, but if there's no f=
ood for the aerobic bacteria or beneficial faculative bacteria then there i=
s less flow of nutrients through the AM fungi into the plant and that means=
 plant performance is not improved even when high AMF colonization levels a=
re present. Make trace minerals, organic materials, and growth promoting s=
ubstances available via CT organisms which process those soil amendments, t=
hen the uptake of nutrients produced by live members present in the CT will=
 be made available to the AM fungi. It is then that higher levels of AM fu=
ngi colonization play a significant role in improving plant performance. =
  

However, not all endomycorrhizal fungi are equal in how they benefit the pl=
ants they colonize. There is a cost to the plant to feed the mycorrhizal f=
ungi vs the nutrient levels that are being brought into the plant by the AM=
 fungi. In general, when the flow of nutrients into a plant exceeds the co=
st of feeding the AM fungi, there will be improvements in plant performance=
. What manufactures of commercial AMF inoculum do, is select species of AM=
F that can pass along more nutrients to a plant than what it costs the plan=
t to feed the fungi. The higher the difference between the nutrients broug=
ht into the plant vs the nutrients taken from the plant to feed the AM fung=
i, the better the over all plant performance will be when more nutrients ar=
e brought in than are consumed by the AM fungi. That's the goal of each of=
 the manufacturers of AMF inoculum. Of the 56 odd species of AM fungi that=
 have been identified, there is a small number of fungi that will give that=
 kind of nutrient input vs cost to feed the fungi. It's also important to =
know that most of the AM fungi species bring into the plant about what it t=
akes to feed the fungi with not much plant performance improvement being ma=
de.

There is a general rule to consider with AM fungi and plants. The first fu=
ngi to colonize the roots of a plant in general is the one that will domina=
te the plant. If that fungi is a low performer AM fungi that is in the soi=
l when an uncolonized plant is placed in the soil and that fungi gets into =
the plant roots before the fungi supplied in a commercial inoculum, then li=
ttle benefit will come from the fungi in the commercial inoculum. Clay soi=
ls do not have much to offer in terms of natural AM fungi because it is so =
difficult for the hyphae to get into such soils so the probability of a low=
 performing AM fungi getting into the plant roots is low. Even in loamy so=
ils the probability of low performing AM fungi getting into the plant roots=
 is low if the commercial inoculum containing higher performing species is =
applied directly to plant roots.

Clay soils are a poor source of food for AMF uptake even when higher levels=
 of AMF are colonized in the plant roots. Low levels of food mean low leve=
ls of plant performance attributed to the presence of the AM fungi. The sa=
me thing is true for the critters in good CT which are added to clay soils.=
  If you add CT to unamended clay soils you will have a lot less food for t=
he critters in the tea. And that means a lot less food for the AM fungi in=
 the plant roots to take into the plant.

The fastest way to get food into clay soils is to amend those soils with an=
 aggregate material and with composted organic material and then spray the =
whole thing down with a good CT. That's a practical thing to do when deali=
ng with small plots of plants, but when one gets into acreage, there is a p=
oint where the costs of amendments far exceed the benefits derived from the=
 plants in the value of the crop being grown. In those cases, mixing cover=
 crop seed with a good commercial inoculum such as BioVam will get the spro=
uting seed established, and raise the survival rate of the germinating seed=
. The high performing aerobic bacteria and the trichoderma fungi in BioVam=
 help insure the survival of the germinating seed. Those same organisms in=
 BioVam also set up an environment that supports higher colonization levels=
 by the species of endomycorrhizal fungi which are present in the product. =
 In clay soils, one still needs to add trace minerals and organic material =
as food for the CT organisms that are added to support the cover crop. It'=
s cheaper to add those components via CT than to put tons of material and m=
inerals out on the soils. The purpose of the cover crop is to grow into pl=
ace the organic material that will eventually be turned into the clay soils=
. With large acreage, tilling in a productive cover crop is the most cost =
effective way to get all that organic material in place. It's cheaper than=
 buying that material and hauling it in and spreading it out. Spraying tha=
t cover crop with CT that contains fish and kelp is a great way to get the =
trace minerals into the cover crop. The AM fungi working with the cover cr=
op roots will generate a lot of glomalin to build soil tilth. The bacteria=
 and fungi in CT will also build soil tilth in that cover crop. Once the c=
over crop is turned into the soils, grape plants inoculated with BioVam are=
 ready to be planted and the mycorrhizal fungi, trichoderma fungi, and aero=
bic bacteria in BioVam will establish itself in and around the roots of the=
 grape plants and the decomposing nutrient rich cover crop tilled into the =
soil will provide the food to feed all the critters as well as the food tha=
t will be picked up by the high performing species of AM fungi in BioVam. =
 

Now that I've made the case bad mouthing clay soils, I'm going to pull the =
rug out from under that case and say that not all clay soils are infertile.=
  More often than not, they are infertile, but the area I live in has fairl=
y fertile clay soils. Lots of minerals are available here including phosph=
orous and AM fungi added to plants put into our soils gives good initial pe=
rformance to plants. That doesn't negate the need to get composted organic=
 materials worked into these clay soils so as to sustain the flow of nutrie=
nts. I've discovered that a nutrient rich cover crop can be grown elsewher=
e and then cut up and laid out around my raspberry and grape plants and the=
 earthworms will pull that organic material down into the clay soils. In o=
ne season that can convert these clay soils into well draining soils filled=
 with nutrient rich organic material and lots of soil life and tilth can be=
 built to depths of five feet into such soils in a single season. Add yucc=
a extract into such soils and one can realize plant improvements that are o=
ften attributed to AM fungi working out from plant roots.

In a vineyard, one can plant fescue grasses in between the vine rows. Appl=
y AM fungi with the seed and the mycorrhizal fungi will vector into grape p=
lant roots below. Apply CT with fish and kelp to the grass and the grapes =
and nice green leaves with no bug problems and no disease problems can be a=
chieved. Mulch mow the fescue grass and the earthworms will pull the clipp=
ings down into the soil and build up the organic material. The AM fungi wi=
ll feed nutrients into the grapes and the following performance benefits ca=
n be observed: Most of the leaves will be of larger size and much darker g=
reen due to higher levels of chlorophyll; the grape clusters will be about =
1/3 larger than in the control plants; the seed germination will be about =
9% higher than in the control plants; the berries with one seed will be ab=
out the same size as the berries with four seeds; the epidermis in the berr=
ies of the treated plants will be 10-20 times thicker than the controls; t=
he epidermis is thicker from the start of development of the grapes; that e=
quates to higher wine quality; the sugar levels in the treated plants will =
rise faster and to higher levels than in the control plants; the after har=
vest spoilage of fruit will be significantly reduced because of higher nutr=
ient content and better cellular development in the fruit and all over the =
plant; there is a much higher resistance to drought conditions and a much f=
aster recovery from drought conditions in the treated plants than the contr=
ols; that is due mainly to thicker xylem tissues, an increase in larger si=
zed xylem tubes, and ultimately more internal water in an improved plumbing=
 system; the phloem sieve tubes are larger in the treated plants than the =
controls; the outer cellular development all over the plant is more robust=
 in the treated plants than in the controls; the ability of the plants to =
resist early and late frosts is greatly improved in the treated plants such=
 that new shoots are not lost and fruit is not lost; the root biomass in t=
he treated plants is greatly enhanced and we can bring BioVam treated grape=
 plants into production in the second year because the plants are physicall=
y able to sustain a large crop; with rich CT applications along with fish =
and kelp enriched tea we can overcrop the grapes because the plants are abl=
e to sustain a higher fruit load; such over cropped plants are able to con=
tinue root and main vine growth and development while the fruit is developi=
ng; we have also found that because of the drought recovery mechanism impr=
ovement due to a better xylem plumbing system that we can water treated gra=
pe plants well past the cut off for untreated controls because the treated =
plants can go dormant and quickly harden off in preparation for winter.

When I started working in this field with BioVam, almost all of the researc=
hers such as Mike Amaranthus, Ted Saint John, Joe Morton, and others were i=
nsisting that mature plants could not be treated and benefited with mycorrh=
izae applications. In fact, one of the key mycorrhizae researchers who has=
 done a lot more work that Dr Amaranthus... Dr Joe Morton maintains that co=
mmercial inoculum should not be made and sold. A key researcher in the UK =
was telling me that he was getting just as many failures in the green house=
 as he was getting successes. I told him to get out of his ivory tower and=
 get out in the dirt and he would find that he could operate in the upper r=
ight hand quadrant of a graph where successes were increasing. Some rare r=
esearchers like Dr. Richard Koskie of the University of Rhode Island have b=
een hired by people to do work out in the field. The US Golfer Association=
 hired Koskie to do a study on AM fungi in turf grasses on golf courses in =
New England states. He found that the addition of glomus intraradicies AMF=
 (one of the power hitters in BioVam) worked quite well to improve the perf=
ormance of mature stands of turf grasses. His findings matched my own work=
 with AMF on mature stands of turf grasses. Koskie admitted in his report =
that kind of performance is not seen in the green house and that more work =
needed to be done out in the field. :) One of the funniest things I've h=
eard yet is from Dr. Joe Morton who said he was appalled at what I was sayi=
ng about AMF performance out in the field with plants not being on the menu=
 for destructive insects and diseases because the plants were in such good =
physical condition. Dr Morton lamented over AMF treated plants having a lo=
t of problems with insects in his ivory tower (green house labs). He said =
that the reason the bugs were going after his plants were because they tast=
ed better to the bugs. He had no concept of healthy plants not attracting =
destructive insects. Dr. Joe Morton has been a leading scientist in the fi=
eld of mycorrhizal fungi for many years and yet he didn't understand a conc=
ept that many back yard gardeners have known for years. Other organic rese=
archers like Bargyla Rateaver have written and illustrated the work of Arde=
n Andersen and Philip Callahan who have shown that healthy plants do not at=
tract destructive insects. Acres USA sells some books by Callahan that are=
 good to read on this topic.

It's interesting to note that the claim of most of the researchers that AM =
fungi won't benefit mature plants has started to go away as I was able to d=
emonstrate to a lot of them that rule was bogus. That researcher in the UK=
 with his bell curve ended up telling me I was causing him to rethink a lot=
 of the limitations researchers had been placing on AM fungi for years. Th=
e real world doesn't live in a green house (ivory tower). That's what I li=
ke about Dr. Ingham. She gets out there in the real world in the dirt and =
isn't constrained by a bunch of rules that many of the mycorrhizal research=
ers have saddled themselves with.

Mike Brock, the inventor of BioVam, found out years ago about the synergist=
ic relationship between AMF, trichoderma, aerobic bacteria, beneficial nema=
todes and the like in the soils. Mike was working with Dr Robert Linderman=
 at the time. Linderman opposed the idea of aerobic bacteria working syner=
gistically with AM fungi back then. Mike Brock went on to develop one of t=
he best mycorrhizal inoculums that exists today. The last few years, Dr. L=
inderman has been singing a different tune with regards to aerobic bacteria=
 working synergistically with AM fungi. An article published in the Califo=
rnia Farmer back in 1997 brought together Elaine Ingham, Mike Brock, Robert=
 Linderman and BioVam http://www.tandjenterprises.com/biovam_cal_farmer.htm=
 . One of the mycologists trained by Dr Joe Morton who started working for=
 Mike Brock a few years ago showed me test results she had from all the com=
panies who made commercial mycorrhiza inoculum. BioVam beat them all and t=
hat's why she was working for Mike's company. I've tried a few other compa=
nies products and found there's stuff out there that simply doesn't do squa=
t... made by researchers supposedly. It's a buyer beware world. For examp=
le, I've purchased product from Don Chapman of Bio0rganics twice and the my=
corrhiza was dead both times and the product net weigh was short 30 oz in a=
 case of quarts. I had a mycologist in France call me once after he had tr=
ied Plant Healhcare's endomycorrhizal product. He said his plants grew rea=
lly well but he couldn't find any mycorrhizal fungi in their roots. He mum=
bled something about an expensive fertilizer. BioVam has earned a good an=
d well deserved reputation among grape growers all over the world. Sales t=
his year to grape growers have been better than the previous five years... =
the word gets out among the growers about products that work well and they =
go after such products.

My point in this is that AM fungi does not work alone in clay soils. It's =
important to get food into those soils... direct amendment or via cover cro=
ps tilled into the soil... with a cultural practice that replenishes minera=
ls, organic material and the soil life that CT is able to furnish. They al=
l work together and they can each play a role in changing clay soils into v=
ery productive soils for all the life that lives out there in the dirt. =
 

--Thomas Giannou
http://www.tandjenterprises.com


  ----- Original Message -----
  From: laura_s_at_vaxxine.com
  To: compost_tea_at_yahoogroups.com
  Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2003 6:14 AM
  Subject: [compost_tea] adding VAM ?


  I've just received the results of my second soil sample through the 2002
  Compost Tea grant program.

  Some really positive results !1 however one of Paul's (SFI NY)
  recommendations was to add VAM for grapes. Now I have recently been in
  contact with Thomas to buy BIOVAM and his take was that I would not see
  results in clay soil unless I did serious soil amendments.

  Has anyone on the list had results adding VAM to grapes - either directly
  or through inoculating cover crop seed ?

  If so what "brand" of VAM ? and how would results monitored ? thanks


  Laura Sabourin
  EcoVit Ecologically Sound Horticultural Products
  Tea-riffic Aerobic Compost Tea and Acadian Seaplant Products
  RR # 1
  St Catharines, Ontario L2R 6P7
  http://www.ecovit.ca
  http://www.compost-tea.ca



Received on Wed Jun 11 2003 - 10:38:26 EDT

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