[compost_tea] Mileage May Vary: Myco Competitors Say Different Things about VAM inoculation

From: chris reid <reidchris_at_earthlink.net>
Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 07:53:55 -0400

Is this science or pseudo-science? And how interested in science are the
myco producers and sellers?

On one website, one test series, not several, is reported to show that
watering surface-applied myco spores to moistened soil using 1/4, 1/2 and
3/4 inch of water is performed, then checked for spore location in the soil.
The test "proof" begins saying "a competitor makes a water-in product..."

The site's conclusions: 1. The results show that VAM spores remain in place
in the
soil, in spite of rainfall. 2. The effectiveness of an inoculum is strongly
influenced by its location in the soil. Inoculum must be located in the root
zone to be effective.

(NOTE: To my way of thinking, 1/4 inch of water is not enough to water
ANYTHING in! I would think an inch would be a better starting place).

The competitor who makes water-in product does not cite specific test
results on their website, so I asked about how to use this product on roses,
citing the test article on the other site and sending the link. The
competitor at first replied merely:

 IN MY EXPERIENCE PHC ROUTINELY PROVIDES MIS-INFORMATION

I then asked if they had test data, since this comment was not appropriate
to make to a customer as a response to a question on technical information.

I wrote back saying, please don't flame the competition, just tell me what
your tests show.

I got back (excerpted) this reply:

I JUST GET TIRED OF SPENDING MY TIME ANSWERING
THE SAME QUESTION 50 TIMES WHEN WE ALL KNOW THAT THESE MATERIALS NEED TO GET
INTO THE ROOT ZONE. IF WATER AND AIR ARE GETTING IN THEN SO ARE THESE SMALL
SPORES. I HAVE SPENT 6 YEARS OVERCOMING THE OVER-PROMOTION OF MF THAT HAVE
NOT ALWAYS WORKED AND A LOT OF MIS-INFORMATION. WAS THEIR TEST DONE WITH
CLAY SOILS? WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF TESTS THAT SHOW OUR MATERIALS WATER IN OR WE
WOULD NEVER HAVE PRODUCED SUCH A PRODUCT TO BEGIN WITH. OUR COMPANY IS
HEAVILY DEVOTED TO SCIENCE AND EDUCATION. POSTING ONE EXPERIMENT THAT
PRODUCED ONE RESULT SHOULD BE QUALIFIED THEN THAT IN MANY APPLICATIONS A
DRENCH IS APPROPRIATE AND VALID. I HAVE NOT LOOKED AT THE SITE BUT HEAR
DAILY THAT THEY SAY MF CANNOT BE WATERED IN. WE DO 500 MILLION TREES YEARLY
AND HAVE BEEN DRENCHING IN WITH GREAT RESULTS FOR MANY YEARS IN NURSERIES
AND OTHER LOCATIONS.

WE HAVE SOLD THOUSANDS OF POUNDS OF
SOLUBLE MYCORRHIZA, AND OUR DISTRIBUTORS MANY MORE, THAT HAVE BEEN WATERED
IN. WE HAVE BEEN DOING LAB TESTS IN OUR FACILITY FOR 25 YEARS AND ALL THESE
MATERIALS ARE HEAVILY COLONIZED BY OUR MATERIALS; IT'S OBVIOUS WHERE THE
MYCORRHIZAL COLONIZATION CAME FROM

So - we have one site that provides ONE test using potting soil as the
medium, and another site/company which says, "we have test results..." but
doesn't share any factual information, just the same "thousands of happy
customers" type approach that chemical fertilizer companies have been using
for years to prove their product works.

I asked for the info, I didn't really succeed in getting what I was after.

My editorial comment is that I am very unimpressed with both of these
approaches to reaching customers. One test is no better or worse than a
thousand unreported tests.

My factual question is: in using mycorrhizae to help balance your soil, how
have you applied mycorrhizae and how good were the results when tested for
root colonization?


Chris Reid


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Received on Mon Aug 11 2003 - 15:54:49 EDT

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