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How to Use Fungi to Increase Tree Care
When you think about tree and plant maintenance, fungi may be the last thing that springs to mind. Although many people depend on fertilizers and mulching, soil fungi are regarded as the ecosystem’s hidden heroes. While their presence in the garden is sometimes neglected, they make substantial benefits to tree and plant health.
Good fungi outweigh harmful fungus in healthy garden soil. A healthy soil-food web includes fibrous networks of white threads of mycelium (the vegetative component of a fungus), which helps find water and nutrients and protects the roots.
While there are many fungi that thrive in good soil, we will concentrate on one kind of helpful fungus: mycorrhizal fungi.
Understanding the Mycorrhizal Fungi-Plant Interaction
Mycorrhizal fungi are essential to the survival of plants. They adhere to the roots and operate as extensions of the plant root system, producing a symbiotic interaction between the roots and fungus. The mutualistic connection between the tree and the fungus may be assessed by the supply and demand for nutrients transferred between the two. Because it lowers the usage of artificial fertilizers that degrade the environment, this primordial, mutually beneficial interaction may pave the way for a more sustainable, eco-friendly agricultural plan.
Mycorrhizal fungus feed on the carbon-rich sugar (a result of photosynthesis) given by the host plant in this relationship. In exchange, the fungus aid in the breakdown of plant litter and soil pools (made up of soil particles and pebbles), allowing roots to receive water and nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, trace minerals) that plants need to live and thrive.
As the fungus grow in the soil, their long white interwoven hyphae spread out in various directions. This enormous network of fungus allows the tree roots to reach 100,000 times more soil than they would otherwise. Trees nearby may connect to this network and benefit from water and fertilizer redistribution. Other trees may also interact with one another through the mycorrhizal network. All trees participating in this mycorrhizal association obtain enough nutrients, allowing them to endure drought and other environmental challenges, as well as root infections and other illnesses.
How Mycorrhizal Fungi Aid Tree Health
Your garden has a whole world of mycorrhizal fungus just under your feet.
Mycorrhizal fungi are important for tree maintenance in the following ways:
Pest and disease resistance – Improving water and nutrient intake helps the tree fight off numerous tree pests and diseases. By forming protective webs around the roots, mycorrhizal fungi safeguard the tree against soil-borne pests and illnesses. They also produce antibiotics, promote other helpful soil fungus in the root system, and activate plant defense genes to keep destructive fungi away from the vulnerable roots.
Survival in Adverse Soil Conditions – Some mycorrhizal fungi assist trees in thriving in soils with low or high pH levels, high salt content, heavy metals, and poor fertility. More research is needed to understand how these trees can thrive in such settings. Furthermore, the presence of mycorrhizal fungus not only increases the tree’s survival. They also improve soil health by physically and chemically dissolving compacted soils over time.
Animals aid in the transmission of fungus spores, therefore provide food for them. Some fungi produce fruiting bodies in the shape of mushrooms or sporocarps, which offer good amounts of carbohydrates, protein, minerals, and water to animals. Sporocarps may be eaten by humans.
How to Promote Beneficial Fungi Growth
Fungi clearly play an important function in fostering tree and plant health. Mycorrhizal fungi already exist in your garden soil, but there are a few things you can do to increase their number.
Maintain Native Fungus Populations – While many beneficial fungi are found in forest soil, mycorrhizal fungus may adapt to local soil, climate, and garden plants. However, gardening practices like as power tilling, excessive fertilizer application, pesticide usage, and plant litter clearance may all have an impact on the establishment of beneficial fungus. Instead of mechanical tilling, grow and mix commercially useful fungus into the soil using hand tools to improve the overall health and survival rate of the tree.
Reduce Fertilizer and Fungicide Use – A well-fertilized soil may be beneficial to the plant, but it is not beneficial to many mycorrhizal fungus. Large amounts of fertilizer containing soluble phosphorus and nitrogen might kill beneficial fungus in the garden soil. While foliar fungicides have no effect on mycorrhizal fungus development, root drenches may kill both good and harmful fungi. To limit the possibility of harming beneficial fungus, read and follow the directions included in the box.
Mulch and compost boost the population of beneficial fungus.
Fungi eat organic materials – so feed it mulch and compost. Organic mulches and compost materials are perfect for promoting a healthy fungus population in your garden soil. Dump pine straw, bark or hardwood mulches, and leaves from fallen deciduous trees on top of the soil.
Cover crops and crop rotation should be used – when there are no plants growing in the soil, mycorrhizal fungus starve. Cover crops are useful for more than merely absorbing nitrogen in the soil. Many soil fungus are protected by grass and legume cover crops. When spring arrives, there will be a strong fungus population and plenty of organic to feed them. Onions, maize, and beans are excellent soil fungal companions. To keep the fungus happy in your vegetable garden, rotate these crops year after year.
How to Introduce Beneficial Fungi to Your Garden
- Here’s how to properly transplant and develop helpful fungus for your trees and plants in your garden soil:
- Perform site preparation, earthworks, cover cropping, and crop rotation to produce a favorable environment for mycorrhizal fungi in trees.
- To boost fungal activity and the soil-creation process, include saprophytic fungus into your garden soil.
- Introduce mycorrhizal fungus to create a healthy subterranean network and a flourishing habitat for tree growth.
- Make a compost tea from the soil and sprinkle it over the yard to attract other plant-friendly microorganisms that will help the development of beneficial fungus and plants.
- To feed the soil-friendly fungus, add woody waste such as mulch, logs, and twigs.
