Mycorrhizal fungi give young trees a boost

Article taken from South East Farmer Magazine

Early take-up of nutrients and water is a vital part of estab-lishing a new orchard, and is an area of plant growth where nature has the answer.

Mycorrhizal fungi have been around for an estimated 460 million years and enjoy a `win-win' relationship with plant roots which can make a big difference to the early establishment of young trees. Leading agronomy company Agrovista supplies RGPro Horti 1, a source of temperate UK strains of mycorrhizal fungi grown on the Kent Science Park by a South East business called PlantWorks Ltd. Mycorrhizal fungi are found naturally in soil but can be disturbed by intensive agricultural activity.
Boosting the levels before planting new trees is a cost-effective way of giving nature a helping hand.

""The fungi have a symbiotic relationship with the plants and are attracted to the roots," explained Agrovista's head of fruit (technical) Paul Bennett. ""They then grow together, which creates an underground raft of combined fungi and roots. ""What that does is give the young plant a much greater surface area through which it can take up water and absorb nutrients, getting it away to a good start and reducing stress. RGPro Horti 1 was trialled two years ago, with impressive results, and is now part of Agrovista's best practice advice when establishing new orchards.

""It's now a fundamental part of our drive to improve the quality of fruit in orchards across the South East," Paul explained during a break from talking to potential customers at this year's Fruit Focus event. ""The benefit of using RGPro Horti 1 is that it is propagated from mycorrhizal fungi found in the soil in this part of the world, which makes it a better match with the fungi already present and gives better protection from local diseases by improving the plant's internal defence mechanisms. ""Plantworks also has very good quality control and so Agrovista is confident about recommending this product to fruit growers, particularly when they are replanting an existing orchard."" RGPro Horti 1 is simply sprinkled into the hole dug for the young tree, which is placed directly on top of the product to encourage strong root growth in association with the fungus. Only about 10g of the product is needed for each planting station.

""While at the moment we recommend RGPro Horti 1 as a way of getting a crop established, there is a lot of research being carried out into the benefits of using it to inoculate an existing orchards in order to boost plant health," Paul said. ""I am confident that in due course this will help growers care for established trees as well as being used to give new plants a good start."" Paul said mycorrhizal fungi had been used to help establish plant grown in several areas of Kent, including the new Sam-phire Floe nature reserve created at Dover from the channel tunnel spoil and White Horse Wood at Detling. ""The other good thing about using RGPro Horti 1 is that it is a one-off application," he added. ""Once it is in the soil it just keeps on doing its job. Nature takes over and the tree —and the grower — benefit.""