Learn more about our most popular product MikoMax
Mycorrhizal fungi containing MikoMax Garden is manufactured in the UK by our UK manufacturer PlantWorks. We spoke to Simon Taylor, the company's Business Development Director, who answered some of the most frequently asked questions. In this blog post, we summarise this useful information about the popular micro-roots product.
VIDEO: MikoMax Garden efficiency
Mycorrhizal fungi grow in, on and through the root system of plants. This allows them to take up water and nutrients over a surface area around 700 times larger, which is very impressive in microscopic images.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)
Of course, more experienced gardeners were even more interested in the details, such as the production process and practical experience.
Narcissus experiment
In this daffodil experiment, it was found that after application of mycorrhizae, daffodils produced more flower buds and the incidence of powdery mildew (which can be caused by several fungi, e.g. Verticillium, Fusarium, Erwinia) was reduced.
Several experiments have shown that MikoMax Garden improved vigour (especially useful for free-rooted plants) and later viability and stress tolerance.
Free-rooted trees & shrubs
At the end of the presentation, there was an opportunity for questions, so here is a selection of the questions and answers.
1. How long does it take to produce a microloan?
A mud mycorrhiza takes 4 years to produce, during which time it is grown on several host plants and then shocked, which encourages the fungi to sporulate.
2. Which plants are not colonised by mycorrhiza?
Three families of plants: the pigweed (Amaranthaceae), Brassicaceae and Azalea (Azaleaceae) families are less colonising (not acidophilic plants, but members of these families!) There is an evolutionary reason for this: these plants can take up phosphorus from the soil themselves, they do not need fungi to do so.
3. Why are these 6 mycorrhizal strains found in it?
After decades of research, the 6 strains that are the most common and that also work at extreme soil pH have been selected. This allows the MikoMax Garden can be used effectively on all soil types. Of the 6 strains, the one that thrives best in that soil will be the one that will grow. (However, diversity is not always an advantage, as it is also true here that it is very important what you mix with what and in what proportions. But that's a science for microbiologists)
4. Why does the germ count matter?
One of the most important quality indicators for fungal and bacterial preparations is the CFU (colony forming unit). The higher the number, the better. A MikoMax Garden germ count: 500.000 pcs/kg.
