Mycorrhizal fungi and tomatoes?
I was wondering if anyone has tried Mycorrhizal fungi when growing tomatoes. I know giant pumpkin growers like to add loads of that stuff and was wondering if it had a great impact in the growth of the tomato plant?
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rainbowgardener
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I have never used mycorrhizal fungi on anything and don't know that much about it. Personally, I've been a bit intimidated, because it seems like a complex and technical subject. Here's an e.g.:
Tomato grown alone was very responsive to mycorrhizal colonization - shoot dry mass of inoculated plants was up to 243% greater than that of noninoculated plants. ... however, with the application of 32 mg P kg-1 the trend was reversed and inoculated plants were smaller than noninoculated controls. We conclude that the role of mycorrhizae in plant competition for nutrients is markedly impacted by soil nutrient status https://www.springerlink.com/content/cgckj4rh3ju4jf3y/
So what that experiment suggests is that innoculating with mycorrhizal fungi may make your tomato plants bigger or smaller depending on what other nutrients are present in your soil...
... Mycorrhizal infection improved photosynthetic activity (Pn) and stomatal conductance (gs) in non-stressed and stressed plants. These increases were accompanied by higher root hydraulic conductivity values, indicating enhanced water uptake in drought conditions. Neither Pn nor gs fully recovered after rewatering. The beneficial effect of the mycorrhizal symbiosis on the water status of tomato plants stimulated plant growth
[url=https://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=A93CCA4653E4C472EFDEF406A38CBF02.tomcat1?fromPage=online&aid=122171]Cambridge Journal[/url].
If you are interested, try it and see what happens. If you have room, try it on some of your tomatoes but not others and see if you can tell a difference. Let us know what you find out! You will be adding to all our knowledge.
Tomato grown alone was very responsive to mycorrhizal colonization - shoot dry mass of inoculated plants was up to 243% greater than that of noninoculated plants. ... however, with the application of 32 mg P kg-1 the trend was reversed and inoculated plants were smaller than noninoculated controls. We conclude that the role of mycorrhizae in plant competition for nutrients is markedly impacted by soil nutrient status https://www.springerlink.com/content/cgckj4rh3ju4jf3y/
So what that experiment suggests is that innoculating with mycorrhizal fungi may make your tomato plants bigger or smaller depending on what other nutrients are present in your soil...
... Mycorrhizal infection improved photosynthetic activity (Pn) and stomatal conductance (gs) in non-stressed and stressed plants. These increases were accompanied by higher root hydraulic conductivity values, indicating enhanced water uptake in drought conditions. Neither Pn nor gs fully recovered after rewatering. The beneficial effect of the mycorrhizal symbiosis on the water status of tomato plants stimulated plant growth
[url=https://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=A93CCA4653E4C472EFDEF406A38CBF02.tomcat1?fromPage=online&aid=122171]Cambridge Journal[/url].
If you are interested, try it and see what happens. If you have room, try it on some of your tomatoes but not others and see if you can tell a difference. Let us know what you find out! You will be adding to all our knowledge.
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john gault
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- Location: Atlantic Beach, Fl. (USDA Hardiness Zone 9a)
To me it's all about building up the soil and soon the beneficial bacteria and fungi will follow.
It's an interesting and complex subject as Rainbow said, but the bottom line is that a tomatoe plant, as with most plants, needs something to fix nitrogen, weather it's a fungi and/or bacteria most gardeners simply don't know, because it's not something you can readily observe.
Bottom line I wouldn't buy a product to introduce a nitrogen fixer. The fact that your plants live is proof that something is fixing the N2. Also the thing you buy may actually do more harm, I.e. if a plant had it's way it would not form a symbiotic relationship, because it's not free. The plant must give up a good amount of energy for the fixed nitrogen. Some symbiotic organisms charge more than others.
It's an interesting and complex subject as Rainbow said, but the bottom line is that a tomatoe plant, as with most plants, needs something to fix nitrogen, weather it's a fungi and/or bacteria most gardeners simply don't know, because it's not something you can readily observe.
Bottom line I wouldn't buy a product to introduce a nitrogen fixer. The fact that your plants live is proof that something is fixing the N2. Also the thing you buy may actually do more harm, I.e. if a plant had it's way it would not form a symbiotic relationship, because it's not free. The plant must give up a good amount of energy for the fixed nitrogen. Some symbiotic organisms charge more than others.