 Biological alternatives to chemical
controls have gained significant inroads in turf management, landscaping and
revegetation efforts. This new awareness has fostered development of commercial
products that can quickly restore microbial activity in topsoils that have been
fumigated or have otherwise had such activity destroyed.
An extra benefit is that these organic
soil amendments are proving quite useful in activating newly-exposed subsoils in
disturbed areas so they may more quickly support the desired climax plant
population. In post-construction landscape applications this approach has much
to recommend it over replacing the original topsoil, which is likely to contain
lots of weed seed. S&S Seeds distributes AM120 a mycorrhizal inoculant produced by Reforestation Technologies International—containing
spores that develop beneficial fungi—fits the bill.
Potent Mix
The benefits of certain fungi on the
plant rhizosphere—the soil surrounding and interacting with the plant's
roots—have been proven through testing and use by Mother Nature for 500
million years. It is only recently that science has come to understand the
symbiotic relationship between beneficial fungi and the host plant (see July '95 LEAF-let on Mycorrhizal Inoculation
and March/April '96 LEAF-let on Plant Fungus, Bacteria). Microbial functions in the soil involving
friendly microorganisms—fungi, bacteria, algae, protozoa and other
organisms—are essential to plant growth, vigor and disease resistance.
Chemical-driven control techniques,
mainstays of agriculture and ornamental horticulture for half a century, have
created a chemical dependence in plants not unlike human chemical addictions.
Use of pesticides and fungicides to eliminate harmful organisms kills beneficial
microbes as well, leaving the soil less able to support plant growth. The plants
become increasingly susceptible to disease. The symbiosis between the plant and
the microbial community is damaged.
Most disease pathogens reproduce from
spores, many of which are able to resist fungicides, and can become dominant.
Returning balance to disturbed soil involves a complex minestrone of microbes,
that together, generate a healthy underground environment for plants. Nature
does the same—in her own sweet time—time we may not be able to afford.
We need a way to jump-start the process of restoring this balance to the rhizosphere without resorting to harsh chemicals that can pose a threat to worker
health.
To the Rescue
AM120 is a mixture of live
endomycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhizal fungi develop fine filaments
that attach to the plant's roots and extend the roots' reach helping in uptake
of essential nutrients and water.
A Plan
Exposed subsoils present two problems—susceptibility
to erosion and inability to support a climax plant population. The pressing need
is to first stabilize the soil, for without erosion resistance the question of
higher order plants is moot. According to Paul Albright, of Albright Seed Company, a typical approach involves hydroseeding the subsoil with a slurry
containing:
When the stabilized and newly vitalized
soil is ready in a few years the desired climax population may be seeded with a
very high chance for success.
The consultants at S&S Seeds
can formulate a plan specifically for you to jump-start the natural
process of successional revegetation. We help Mother Nature—known for
taking her own sweet time—to step on it!
Start by filling out our Revegetation Plan - Seed Mix Design Criteria form for answers that make sense for your clients.
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