Farm Horizons
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Oct. 10, 2016
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Page 28
Soil fungi important in growing
Soil is a medium that cannot grow withportant to not add things that can harm the
out sufficient nutrients. Fungi plays an imsoil.
Christine
portant role in soil.
Here are things you can to do to encourSchlueter
Fungi are microscopic cells that usually
age fungi in your soil:
McLeod County
Master Gardener
grow as long threads or strands call hyKeep as much organic material in your
phae. Hyphae interacts with soil particles,
garden as possible. Water and try not to
roots, and rocks forming fine threads that
disturb the soil more than necessary.
promotes foraging for food.
Tilling is not the best for your soil; it
These networks release enzymes into the soil and break breaks up the hyphae and breaks up the mycelium in the
down complex molecules that the filaments then reabsorb. soil. Once a year may be enough.
Fungus act like natural recycling bins, reabsorbing nutriReduce the number of broad-spectrum fungicides you
ents in the soil. Fungi of all kinds are important for many use which can be toxic to fungi. The more you use them
reasons. Not only in growing plants but also in recycling, the more there will be decline in the number of beneficials
food, medicines, bio control, crop diseases, and food spoil- in the soil.
ing.
Herbicides are not generally thought to affect fungi diFungi can survive in the soil for long periods even through rectly, though the removal of some plant types may affect
periods of water deficit by living in dead plant roots and/or the distribution of different fungi types.
as spores or fragments of hyphae.
Have a gardening or houseplant question? Send it to
Fungi perform important services related to water dy- rcschlueter@yahoo.com n
namics, nutrient cycling, and disease suppression. There
are various types of fungi.
Decomposers
This group converts dead organic matter into fungal biomass, carbon dioxide, and organic acids. They are essential
for decomposing hard woody organic matter. By consuming nutrients in the organic matter they help retain nutrients
in the soil.
Mutualists
These fungi help develop relationships with plants. They
help roots which help the plant to obtain nutrients from
the soil. With their mass it hides roots from pathogens and
pests, and provides a large root are so the plant can reach
out for more nutrients.
Mycorrhizal
This is probably the most well-known type. Mychorrhiza
means fungus root, and this fungi grow inside plant roots.
About 90 percent of plants have some sort of association
with these fungi except for the a few types of vegetable
families, one of which would include spinach and beets.
Pathogens
This group includes a lot of common types such as Verticillium, Phytophthora, Rhizoctonia and Pythium. These
organisms penetrate the plant and decompose the living tissue, creating a weakened, nutrient deficient plant or death.
Soils with high diversity can suppress soil-borne fungal
diseases.
If some plants do succumb to a disease, even with good
growing conditions, then perhaps they are not the right
plants for your garden. Or perhaps your soil needs rebuilding.
One of the keys to healthy soils is good microbial activity. Fungal soils have a symbiotic relationship with woody
plants which creates a system of better health for both organisms.
We all need to encourage soil health and it is just as im-