Saturday, October 10, 2020

Trichoderma likes Alder and Trichoderma protects the coniferous trees

 https://pubs.cif-ifc.org/doi/pdf/10.5558/tfc32020-1

So I had too much Trichoderma on my Shiitake logs that I innoculated this year - the Alder logs - since I put them on the forest floor. But turns out the Trichoderma protects the coniferous trees that are currently being killed up in Northern Minnesota due to global warming spreading the Larch Beetle. 

So by putting the alder logs by the coniferous trees - as I have done - that actually will help protect them from the Larch beetle! Pretty cool. 

 

 https://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/olympia/silv/publications/opt/533_Harrington2006.pdf

So I need to clean off the Trichoderma again but at least I am helping to protect the coniferous trees around the Alder logs...

 We investigated if the plant growth promoting fungus Trichoderma harzianum Rifai 1295-22 (also known as "T22") could be used to enhance the establishment and growth of crack willow (Salix fragilis) in a soil containing no organic or metal pollutants and in a metal-contaminated soil by comparing this fungus with noninoculated controls and an ectomycorrhizal formulation commercially used to enhance the establishment of tree saplings.

 This is the first report of tree growth stimulation by application of Trichoderma to roots, and is especially important as willow is a major source of wood fuel in the quest for renewable energy.

So I'm not sure why Trichoderma "helps willow trees grow" - I suppose for the same reason Trichoderma fends off other bad molds...

I am planning on harvesting Willow trees for next year's Shiitake innoculation - to get the Alder trees a break and time to grow.

 

 So what's "P" - phosphorus? Yep.

Phosphorus Uptake by Plants: From Soil to Cell | Plant ...

The low availability of P in the bulk soil limits plant uptake. More soluble minerals such as K move through the soil via bulk flow and diffusion, but P is moved .

 Fascinating....

 Logs that sit in the sun get sunburned, which makes the bark less useful for shiitake mushroom growth, but worse, the logs warm up and grow Trichoderma, a locally prevalent, aggressively competing fungus. If that stuff gets a toehold before the shiitake can get established, then the logs fail to ever produce mushrooms. So keep your logs cool and in the shade!

 http://blog.redalderranch.com/?p=201

Yeah so global warming really increases the Trichoderma! We had drought last spring...

and then when it got hot over the summer - the trichoderma just took off...

I cleaned the new logs several times - using a scrub brush and orange soap. The orange soap is used for organic farming.

It worked but after I soaked the logs and then it rained - and then it warmed up again and the trichoderma came back again. 

So it's in the logs permanently and the Shiitake just has to compete. haha.

 

 

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