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chilli

Mycorrhizal fungi for Acacias?

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I am about to repot some different Acacias and I started wondering about the symbiotic fungi it grows with in the wild.. the ones I am about to repot are acuminata, cyclops and floribunda and I have a bunch of random others coming along.

So I am not sure if all species are supposed to benefit from this fungus, if it is different fungus(or fungi) for different species, where to get it or how much to use.

From what I can gather, these may be the relevant fungi:

Scutellospora calospora

Glomus intraradices

Glomus mosseae

and they may benefit a range of Australian natives?

so basically I am wondering does anyone in WA have a chunk of the right kind of mycelium for this in some dirt?

and don't tell me to go scratching in the dirt to get some, unless it just grows everywhere under any random natives (does it?).

Is it best to add it when repotting, or can I go ahead and repot and then just dig some in the soil when I get it?

Any help or advice welcomed about the repotting generally, so far I am doing it moist and with some seasol

Thanks :)

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Glomus intraradices

Glomus mosseae

are both probably everywhere and very host non-specific. There are only 220 species of Glomus, and they are known to be very non-species specific, unlike some of the rhizobacteria which do have specificity to plant host.

I really wouldnt be worried about trying to get specific mycorrhizal fungi, any old dirt will do, but i would with your bacteria, i.e. dirt from around other acacias would be a big help. remember too that it may take a little while for enough off a rhizosphere to develop around the plant roots, so repeat inoculations may be necessary.

Cheers, Ob.

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Haha oops.. I just went to Native Plants looking for this thread and couldn't find it, so I was like 'I didn't say anything illegal did I?'

I will ask a mod to move to the right forum.

Thanks for the information, both posts have been very helpful. :)

Edited by chilli

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HI guys...my first post...

Im not all that experienced with the trees you're growing (I wish, Ive focussed on growing food for the last 12 months) but I recently read a book called "Teaming With Microbes", and in that book they say that Bacteria is required to supply Nitrogen to veges & flowers etc, but for trees that are hopefully going to grow for a long time, Fungi is needed to supply the roots with Nitrogen. They dont get so much Nitrogen from Bacteria, if any.

In the 50's some guys tried to grow Pine trees in Cuba that had come from Colorado (I think)...the trees were ok for about 3 years, then they died. After lots of messing about... they went to Colorado to check the soil and discovered the Fungi, went back to the drawing board, and bingo...!

There's a company here in Oz called "NTS" that produces all kinds of great organic products, mainly for big Ag stuff...but they have the goods to create either a Bacteria based "Tea", or a Fungal based "Tea".

They sell in huge quantities, but also have small if you ask.

There's also a product called "Great White" that contains all the Mycorrhizae you'll need, I believe. Either sprinkle it into the pot prior to potting or transplanting, or soak the seeds in a weak solution prior to germination.

I have some new trees in the back yard that did zero for 2 years...then I got onto all this Fungus stuff, and amazingly...doubled the leaf size in no time, and shot NEW growth from under the plants that are taller than the trees!

Hope this helps...

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Ive been using Osmocote native potting mix for my acacias and ive noticed there is quite alot of thin white streaky mycelium inside the bag,

Fingers crossed osmocote has done its reasearch on symbiotic fungi and its not just something random growing inside the bag.

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Ok this isn't nitrogen fixing bacteria, but it was worth a shot.

My phlebs were stuck, hadn't put on any new ax nodes in a while. Tops were slowly growing, but for the season growth was sparse and slow

I watered in 5g/L TrichoShield a couple of days ago and they put on new growth at many ax nodes within a couple of days

NTS -Trichoderma products and sourcing Microbe Culturing

I have no idea if this is a coincidence or not, there was no control plant in the experiment. I was hoping the plants didn't respond negatively, and they came up good

NTS look like they have some cool products and their range is growing fast- their customer service is also excellent as I had some hard-ass biology questions about their products we spent an hour on and they were really helpful

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Often wondered if clover species mycorrhizal innoculants could be put to use. Never had the time to play with them, but there may be a good association amongst the variants used for different clovers.

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Ok this isn't nitrogen fixing bacteria, but it was worth a shot. My phlebs were stuck, hadn't put on any new ax nodes in a while. Tops were slowly growing, but for the season growth was sparse and slow I watered in 5g/L TrichoShield a couple of days ago and they put on new growth at many ax nodes within a couple of days NTS -Trichoderma products and sourcing Microbe Culturing I have no idea if this is a coincidence or not, there was no control plant in the experiment. I was hoping the plants didn't respond negatively, and they came up good NTS look like they have some cool products and their range is growing fast- their customer service is also excellent as I had some hard-ass biology questions about their products we spent an hour on and they were really helpful
Ok this isn't nitrogen fixing bacteria, but it was worth a shot. My phlebs were stuck, hadn't put on any new ax nodes in a while. Tops were slowly growing, but for the season growth was sparse and slow I watered in 5g/L TrichoShield a couple of days ago and they put on new growth at many ax nodes within a couple of days NTS -Trichoderma products and sourcing Microbe Culturing I have no idea if this is a coincidence or not, there was no control plant in the experiment. I was hoping the plants didn't respond negatively, and they came up good NTS look like they have some cool products and their range is growing fast- their customer service is also excellent as I had some hard-ass biology questions about their products we spent an hour on and they were really helpful

Yeah, I forgot to mention they're very friendly, and knowledgeable at NTS... TrichoShield sounds like the way to go for Fungi for trees.

I happened to find a PDF of "Teaming with Microbes", if anyone is curious to know more about that.

http://ge.tt/9LYCbnC/v/1

Edited by Buai

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I noticed a pretty big difference from putting some mycelium infused soil in with the tube mix for Obtus seedlings, which was obtained maybe 4 inches below top-soil around the root system of an established maidenii tree. I can't say whether the benefit was from introduction of fungal or bacterial microbes, but it gave them a head start compared to previous germination attempts.

Can't comment for acuminata, but I do know there is benefit to putting them in the ground ASAP. If you're considering repotting them, depending on current size, you may want to think about putting straight in the ground. Rule of thumb is if they are ready to pot up from 4 inch tubes, then they're ready for the ground, and if there is going to be beneficial bacteria or fungus anywhere then chances are better in soil.

Once they grow to about 1.5m high in the ground and the weather gets warm, the growth is pretty well exponential from there. Very rapid. I've seen recently a side by side comparison of one kept in large pots and one put in the ground. The one in the ground is 4 times bigger and 2 years younger than the jumbo pot one. After a certain point it's cruel to keep natives confined to containers.

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