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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] perennial native grasses->mycorrhizae

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>
  • To: steved@ipa.net, livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] perennial native grasses->mycorrhizae
  • Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2006 12:40:46 -0600


Thanks, Steve, a vast topic, yes. Specifically, I wanted to ask whether
there are certain kinds of cover crops that aid certain kinds of produce.
I'll bet that's beyond the cutting edge of soil science, though.


paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

On 8/17/2006 at 11:10 AM Steve Diver wrote:

>Paul -
>
>The passage you found in that PDF regarding environmental
>impact under the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest
>web page was a passing comment in a large document.
>
>Annual crops and grasses and cereals are very commonly
>associated with VAM mycorrhizae, also called AM Fungi for
>arbuscular mycorrhizae, also called endomycorrhizae.
>
>It is commonly estimated that 80% to 95% of the 300,000
>species of vascular plants, including grasses, broadleaves,
>shrubs, and trees form endomycorrhizal associations with
>plant roots. About 160 species of very specifc fungi form
>these AM fungal associations.
>
>The other broad group of mycorrhizae, the ectomycorrhizae,
>form associations with tree roots in about two dozen genera
>(e.g., Abies, Picea, Pinus, Alnus, Betula, Fagus, Populus,
>Quercus, Salix, Tsuga). But remember these tree species
>comprise the vast forests stretching around the world, and
>over 5,000 to 6,000 species of fungi form ectomycorrhizal
>associations with these tree roots.
>
>Among the technical resources I've compiled on mycorrhizae,
>the following paragraph on propagating on-farm mycorrhizal
>inoculum sums up the ability to use annual crops, cereals,
>and legumes to colonize mycorrhizae in rotation or to harvest
>inoculum as infected roots, fungal hyphae, and spores in pot
>culture.
>
>"Some of the best known hosts for mycorrhizal colonization
>-- both pot culture and field culture -- include bahia grass,
>sudan grass, sorghum, corn, millet, carrots, white clover,
>subterranean clover, sunflower, oats, and barley."
>
>At the same time, I've heard that certain native grasses
>do much better or are wholly dependent on mycorrhizal
>associations.... fungal symbiosis in nature is a vast topic.
>
>Steve Diver







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