As a good company, I write my thoughts and observations for the New Year on the broadly understood mycorrhization. Last year we had several new interesting observations about the effects of mycorrhization treatments performed by our Clients.

Blueberries of Ms Agata have already begun fruiting and if not for the partial freezing of the flowers, it would have been about 1 kilogram of fruit from the bush. The plantation appears much older (planted in October 2017) because of the size of the bushes (click). Mr Bartek’s plantation looks completely different, he mycorrhized larger seedlings at the same time and he mycorrhized with a vaccine “from the same pot” as Ms Agata. In fact, it is so poor and haggard as if it actually didn’t get mycorrhiza. Of course, it got it, only Mr Bartek experimented with giving e.g. EMs, which are in opposition to mycorrhizal fungi, and besides, they were watered excessively, as we dug out and checked with Mr Jurek; there was mud under the bushes. So it wasn’t the fungi that were to blame, but the host who treated them like anaerobiotic organisms. It is true about crops that excess of water is more harmful than its deficiency, unless we grow rice. And I am surprised with planters, especially the recent ones, that it is profitable for them not to mycorrhize; just call Ms. Agata and go see (I pass the phone number to those interested on request). It is not only the quantity but also the quality of the crop and the condition of bushes in the plantation that count.

Last season, we were particularly surprised by the mycorrhization effects of greenhouse tomatoes grown on mineral wool. It turned out that the effects surprised us well and appeared in areas not known to us so far. It would seem that, mycorrhizal fungi have little to improve in cultivation on artificial ground, but the reality has shown that the effects exceeded both our, and the Producer’s, expectations. Please look at the information (here) provided by the Production Manager in this greenhouse and you will see what mycorrhiza can do. I believe that every producer, after reading this professional information, should order a vaccine, since its lack means big losses.

            There is a lot of similar information and there is no cultivation in which mycorrhiza doesn’t work. Recently, after a conversation between Mr Jurek and Mr Andrzej Barański, the wine producer, I have learned that despite the unfavorable conditions for the grapevine (south of Krakow), the wine came out with good quality which was certainly thanks to the mycorrhization of the plantation 4 years ago. Vineyards in Poland have too little light and heat, which is a disadvantage of this latitude, but mycorrhizal fungi significantly increase the efficiency of assimilation by improving the uptake of water and minerals (phosphorus); and here is the whole secret. Of course, this cannot be achieved with any chemical, hormonal method, foliar fertilization and other miraculous treatments. Fungi do all this for us, throughout the life of the plantation, and in addition, which also is much cheaper. In order to have good wine, not only in Poland, it is worth considering investing in mycorrhization, instead of spending money on questionable methods.

            In all cases of crops mycorrhization,  the effects on plants are beyond our imagination. It is hard to believe that thanks to mycorrhiza the crop can increase by 100%, and we have evidence of this also in Poland. I, myself, would probably also accuse the company of manipulation. And what if it was even 300% ? And yet the crop height is one thing, and there is also the taste and nutritional quality, plant health, savings on fertilizers and a few other effects. But most planters who believed the ads of chemical companies, cannot believe that a simple treatment, once in many years, can change so much. In many places, the chemical treatment of crops has caused such a strong biological degradation of the soil that there are already problems with the crop yield. If we start replacing harmful chemicals with mycorrhizal fungi with a complex of appropriate bacteria, we will gradually restore life and the crop-forming capacity in the soil. Such a scenario awaits entire areas of plant production (Zagłębie Grójeckie, Sandomierskie, Podkrakowskie, etc.) in the near future which some people already notice, but still count on some miracle that could only occur after mycorrhizing such a plantation.

    In urban plantations, the vast majority of fallen leaves is ruffled and taken to landfills or, at best, to a composter. It is an irrevocable loss for the tree. The introduction with mycorrhizal mycelium of symbiotic nitrogen bacteria that supply nitrogen from soil air is a significant compensation for such practices. The results are very promising. I invite you to the Marketplace in Ostrzeszów and to many cities in Poland, where we have already performed mycorrhization.

            I am writing about these various issues as a gardener with a nursery practice currently handling the preparation of mycorrhizal vaccines. And as a practitioner, I am constantly trying to improve our vaccines; we are currently enriching them with additional microorganisms, but they are available for the Producers who are aware of their needs. I am thinking here about comprehensive vaccines containing, in addition to mycorrhizal fungi, the helper bacteria, nitrogen-binding, protecting against root pathogens (Fytoftora, Fusarium, and others) and fungi limiting the population of harmful nematodes and insects. And this is the future of plant production.

            Włodzimierz Szałański i Jerzy Nieswadba– February 8, 2021