Article taken from Agronomist & Arable Farmer Magazine
Inoculating fruit trees with mycorrhizal fungi is growing in popularity as growers look to improve orchard establishment and eventual yields, says Paul Bennett, Agrovista’s technical head of fruit
Mycorrhizal fungi are one of the most important but perhaps least understood of soil microbes. Too small to be seen with the naked eye, they form a symbiotic relationship with plants, colonising their roots while penetrating soil, enabling them to swap carbon for valuable mineral nutrients and water. The fungal threads form a vast subterranean network and can greatly increase the uptake of these key yield drivers, particularly phosphorous and nitrogen, says Mr Bennett. This can in turn reduce the effect of stresses such as pathogens and drought, and can help improve heavy metal tolerance. There is also evidence that they can reduce infection by soil-borne pathogens.
“Mycorrhizal fungi are associated with about 80% of plant species and can greatly augment root volumes, attaching themselves to plant roots and giving the plant access to a much bigger volume of soil,” says Mr Bennett.
However, populations are seriously depleted in many soils. “Ploughing, the use of some systemic fungicides and intensive nutrient programmes can all be damaging. Brassica crops don’t support the fungi, so widespread cropping with these species, notably oilseed rape, can greatly reduce mycorrhizal populations.”
To help optimise levels in new orchards, particularly ones that follow intensive arable rotations, Agrovista has recently introduced a new mycorrhizal fungi inoculant, RG Pro Horti, from Kent-based manufacturer Plant Works. This comes in a powder form and can be sprinkled into the hole where the tree is to be planted or can be mixed into a slurried root dip. The latter method is recommended but the formers seems to work very well, he advises.
“The aim is to get trees off to the best possible start to achieve breakeven by year five. Establishing a new orchard is expensive, costing £20-25,000/ha to get the trees into the ground.
“Anything you can do to reduce stress, especially in the first two to three years when trees are most vulnerable, will pay dividends. Any grower will tell you that is something goes wrong in this critical period, the orchard will never do well.”
A Gala orchard, for example, needs to achieve 50t/ha in the fifth year to start making money, and continue doing that every year thereafter, Mr Bennett explains.
“Unless that is achieved, the figures don’t stack up. Using mycorrhizal fungi helps prevent things from going backwards. If you are going to the expense of buying excellent trees you want to protect that investment – at around £350/ha that is a relatively modest cost.”
RG Pro Horti is suited to UK conditions, Mr Bennett maintains. “There are other products out there, but we liked this one because of the excellent scientific approach that the company has taken and the fact that the mycorrhizal fungi have been extracted from strains that are proven to work under UK conditions.”
Plant Works is based in Sitingbourne, Kent, where it makes about 100t of product annually. It was formed in 2000 as a spin-out of the International Institute of Biotechnology, and launched its farming product in 2014. The company uses five species of mycorrhizal fungi, all of which are temperate. This produces a highly potent inoculum, produced using the highest quality control standards, which can form an association with all host plants in the UK, says Mr Bennett. Plant Works offers a root colonisation test so growers can see how successful inoculation has been. It involves analysing taking root samples taken two to three months after planting. This will provide peace of mind and means growers are not having to buy the product on blind faith – they know it is working and can buy again with confidence, says Mr Bennett.
“The great thing is that the product is manufactured in this country and growers can see the process for themselves and talk to the team.
“You don’t get that with a lot of products – it does make a difference. From a standing start we have been very encouraged by grower interest and uptake this season, and we expect the area treated to grow quite significantly next autumn onwards.”
Inoculating fruit trees with mycorrhizal fungi is growing in popularity as growers look to improve orchard establishment and eventual yields, says Paul Bennett, Agrovista’s technical head of fruit
Mycorrhizal fungi are one of the most important but perhaps least understood of soil microbes. Too small to be seen with the naked eye, they form a symbiotic relationship with plants, colonising their roots while penetrating soil, enabling them to swap carbon for valuable mineral nutrients and water. The fungal threads form a vast subterranean network and can greatly increase the uptake of these key yield drivers, particularly phosphorous and nitrogen, says Mr Bennett. This can in turn reduce the effect of stresses such as pathogens and drought, and can help improve heavy metal tolerance. There is also evidence that they can reduce infection by soil-borne pathogens.
“Mycorrhizal fungi are associated with about 80% of plant species and can greatly augment root volumes, attaching themselves to plant roots and giving the plant access to a much bigger volume of soil,” says Mr Bennett.
However, populations are seriously depleted in many soils. “Ploughing, the use of some systemic fungicides and intensive nutrient programmes can all be damaging. Brassica crops don’t support the fungi, so widespread cropping with these species, notably oilseed rape, can greatly reduce mycorrhizal populations.”
To help optimise levels in new orchards, particularly ones that follow intensive arable rotations, Agrovista has recently introduced a new mycorrhizal fungi inoculant, RG Pro Horti, from Kent-based manufacturer Plant Works. This comes in a powder form and can be sprinkled into the hole where the tree is to be planted or can be mixed into a slurried root dip. The latter method is recommended but the formers seems to work very well, he advises.
“The aim is to get trees off to the best possible start to achieve breakeven by year five. Establishing a new orchard is expensive, costing £20-25,000/ha to get the trees into the ground.
“Anything you can do to reduce stress, especially in the first two to three years when trees are most vulnerable, will pay dividends. Any grower will tell you that is something goes wrong in this critical period, the orchard will never do well.”
A Gala orchard, for example, needs to achieve 50t/ha in the fifth year to start making money, and continue doing that every year thereafter, Mr Bennett explains.
“Unless that is achieved, the figures don’t stack up. Using mycorrhizal fungi helps prevent things from going backwards. If you are going to the expense of buying excellent trees you want to protect that investment – at around £350/ha that is a relatively modest cost.”
RG Pro Horti is suited to UK conditions, Mr Bennett maintains. “There are other products out there, but we liked this one because of the excellent scientific approach that the company has taken and the fact that the mycorrhizal fungi have been extracted from strains that are proven to work under UK conditions.”
Plant Works is based in Sitingbourne, Kent, where it makes about 100t of product annually. It was formed in 2000 as a spin-out of the International Institute of Biotechnology, and launched its farming product in 2014. The company uses five species of mycorrhizal fungi, all of which are temperate. This produces a highly potent inoculum, produced using the highest quality control standards, which can form an association with all host plants in the UK, says Mr Bennett. Plant Works offers a root colonisation test so growers can see how successful inoculation has been. It involves analysing taking root samples taken two to three months after planting. This will provide peace of mind and means growers are not having to buy the product on blind faith – they know it is working and can buy again with confidence, says Mr Bennett.
“The great thing is that the product is manufactured in this country and growers can see the process for themselves and talk to the team.
“You don’t get that with a lot of products – it does make a difference. From a standing start we have been very encouraged by grower interest and uptake this season, and we expect the area treated to grow quite significantly next autumn onwards.”