Mycorrhizae: What a FunGi!

We recently talked about Soil Biota and I have mentioned there are so many organisms in the soil. In this article, I am going to talk about my favorite microorganism that is found in the soil. We are going to step into the field of mycology, study of fungi, and talk about this certain fungi’s biology and why plays a huge part in the ecosystem - especially with plants. I am going to share how to enrich our soils with this fungi and how to continuously promote it in our lawn and gardens.
Out of all 70,000 species of fungi in our soil, one species that stands out to me and that is Mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae is a type of fungus that aids in plant nutrition, soil biology, and soil chemistry. It had a symbiotic relationship with plants because it thrives on the root system. The role of mycorrhizae is to build colonies on the root system to aid in nutrition absorption. There are four major types of Mycorrhizae fungi: arbuscular mycorrhiza, ectomycorrhiza, orchid mycorrhiza, and ericoif mycorrhiza. I will be mainly be focusing on Arbuscular mycorrhiza. Ectomycorrhiza benefits most woody plants. Orchid mycorrhiza benefits plants in the Orchidaceae family and ericoif mycorrhiza benefits anything in the Ericaceae family.
Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), helps plants absorb nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and various micronutrients. The biggest symbiosis between Arbuscular mycorrhiza and plants it helps the plants in utilizing Phosphorus. From my one of my previous post, we know that Phosphorus is a critical element for plant nutrition. AM is a tree shaped fungal structure that penetrates the cell wall found on the roots. This increases surface area which allows for nutrient exchanges. You can find at least 80% of Arbuscular mycorrhiza thriving on vascular plants. The relationship between plants and AM is a highly evolved relationship which has created an impact in the ecosystem. They aid in the process of nitrogen cycling by recycling organic nitrogen from the soil and allowing plants to utilize it as well as other biochemical exchanges in the soil to benefit plants.
Upon learning and research on Abruscular mycorrhiza, I have a theory that when soil samples come back with high phosphorus that potentially there is not enough AM in the soil where the plants cannot utilize the phosphorus because the roots do not have enough surface area to be able to take phosphorus in. Soil samples reflect on what’s in the soil but does not state what the plants are utilizing from the soil. The only way to see what the plants are utilizing is by doing a tissue sample to see what is being used on a cellular level.
One of my favorite products is Espoma’s BioTone which is enriched with mycorrhizae to benefit a plant’s root systems. I recommend this product for new plants and spot seeding (for lawns the rate is ten pounds for every 1,000 square feet, or one pound for every one hundred square feet). Mycorrhizae is found in other Espoma products and in ProMix soils. Using products that will enhance and promote mycorrhizae. My favorite saying is when we have a strong root system, we will have a strong plant and these products will help you achieve that!
Thank you so much for reading my article! I am opening up the floor as we continue this soil sample series with your questions! I would like to pick out TEN great questions about soil to answer on my blog! Five more articles to go before we finish up this series! Thank you so much for reading along and following something I am passionate about when it comes to plants: beautiful, healthy soil. Leave some comments and let’s discuss!