proposed method for reducing time required for mycorrhizal colonization in cannabis

[mad librettist]

I thought it was implied, ill go into greater detail then.

Strigolactones initiate germination of AM, increase mitochondrial activity and density of AM, increase cell proliferation of AM (growth), and promote pre-symbiotic branching of AM. This naturally occurs in the rhizosphere as a/the plant starts lacking nitrogen and/or phosphorous and exudes specific strigolactones into the rhizosphere, or when certain environmental cues happen. The entire process usually unfurls in a 4-6 week period. One could essentially sidestep this hole 4-6 week natural forming of symbiosis by doing this process yourself, as i previously mentioned, saving your plants 4-6 weeks of work/waiting...

Again this is all just theory, im not aware of strigolactones ever being concentrated or synthesized and utilized in any sort of experimentation. We're pretty slow when it comes to strigolactone research ATM. We've known about them for over 15 years and have thought they were detrimental to plant growth for more than half the time we've been aware of them (because they were exuded by witches weed). Only ~7 years ago we discovered that they had beneficial aspects beneficial, and only 4 years ago did we find out that they are one of the essential groups of phytohormones in all (terrestrial at least) plants.

Interesting, but in the end this would be more or less like dropping in a plug of pre-colonized clover?

it's very easy to keep the clover going on a windowsill, even easier in an outdoor windowbox.

If you kept many trays, you'd also be fixing lots of N, which you could transfer to cannabis containers.

 

[dr.penthotal]

I like your idea.
I've been thinking to this lately.
The Strigolactones name is new to me, but it names one thing I already was aware of. roots send their own chemical signal to mycos to proliferate and flourish.
I knew this as generally 'sugars'. (it is a sugar indeed)
Nice to know his name.
As far as I know mycos need nearly 5 weeks to be completely working from spores (which is approximately the time needed a real flowering phase to kick in and when most P an K are needed).
They need to be placed as close as possible to roots when applied as they don't move and their spores need to germinate close to roots.
This can be easily achieved when transplanting.
What I usually use is some dried roots of some herbal hosts base (sorgum) colonized with mycos and bacterias.(I buy it in garden store). 12 euro 1 kilo.
It has different kinds of glomus (viscosum GC41 and GA73, coronatum GU53, mossae GP11 and intraradices GB67), trichoderma herziarium TH01 and viridiae TH03. Added pseudomonas (fluorescens PA28, Spp. PM4, synxanthia PN01, fluorescens PA28), Bacillus subtilis BA41 and streptomices spp SB41. I like they indicate names of cultures...
This is just the base to go in direct contact with roots, this is added and sided to all natural bacterias in ACT.

But I was triying to think this adapting a natural enviroment as a forest.
How does it work naturally? I think that once estabiished mycos keep producing spores able to infect nearby uninfected roots that during season are growing out. Keep spreading 'the desease' around. I don't think they're plant specific. For sure there are some species and different kinds which specialized into making symbiosis with a specific plant, but we are talking about common herbal mycos found in a unworked field.

So for our herbal purposes I too was thinking to a cheap, useful host plant, easy to grow to side to our beloved. Clover is a good option.
Living mulch is a neat idea. More natural way of thinking, but my living mulch died when light was shaded after 2-3 weeks.
So came the idea that his best use would be as a mycos host between growing cycles.
Sowed when ammending the recycled soil, clover sprouts and grows as late plants are waiting to be harvested. I then cut the plant at the base when harvesting. This kills roots and make mycos to sporulate. And infect nearby new growing roots from clover.
The process goes back once new clones/plants are set in the same alive medium.
In winter if not how can mycos colonize new seeds in spring naturally?

Let's go deep into science to understand what we are doing, but to find out a good SIMPLE way to go. The SIMPLER, the better.
Hope this helps
any critics, question, is welcomed
Dr.P

 

[mad librettist]

so the question is, how long does colonization take when living mycelia are placed in contact with a germinating seed?

AFAIK in nature some seedlings don't even survive at all unless there is a network of mycorrhizae to plug into. it's not via spores that the fungus colonizes the new host.

 

[dr.penthotal]

so the question is, how long does colonization take when living mycelia are placed in contact with a germinating seed?

True. this detail wiil help us know if your method works.
I've found that Indeed mycos can infect roots through two ways:
1) from spores, an ypha comes out an is able to look for a nearby root. Then she enters the root through a chemical unlocking process and begins the symbiosis and the true exchange of nutrients.
2) there's another way to inoculate: through infected roots. Already infected roots have in the inside a structure called arbuscula, which can act as spores and begin the hunt for a new root directly from an old one.
Not clear from article I read if the infecting root can be alive or dead.
Dead infected roots enriched with rhizobacterias is my method.

Inoculated roots have a shelf life of 6-12 months, spores powder 14 days if kept refrigerated.

AFAIK in nature some seedlings don't even survive at all unless there is a network of mycorrhizae to plug into. it's not via spores that the fungus colonizes the new host.

I know. Some horchids seeds need mycos to germ...
amazing world of biology...

 

[fungzyme]

A normal cannabis grow cycle is not long enough to see benefit from spore inoculation.


The fungus can live for some time after plant death, but can't be transferred to a medium other than live roots.

This wouldn't be practical in most cases, but if you could time the root-shaving/repotting of an established mother plant with the potting or transplanting of some seedlings you wish to inoculate, could you shave off chunks of root mass from the mother and place them in direct contact with the seedling's roots when repotting (or even in the pot with a just-germinating seed).

That way the seedling's roots would be touching/growing through the freshly cut and colonized root piece from the mother plant.

Does that make sense?

 

[mad librettist]

This wouldn't be practical in most cases, but if you could time the root-shaving/repotting of an established mother plant with the potting or transplanting of some seedlings you wish to inoculate, could you shave off chunks of root mass from the mother and place them in direct contact with the seedling's roots when repotting (or even in the pot with a just-germinating seed).

That way the seedling's roots would be touching/growing through the freshly cut and colonized root piece from the mother plant.

Does that make sense?

well it makes sense to me and seems practical, since the roots need to be shaved anyway. mothers should be able to benefit the most from fungal association/protection from pathogens.

 

[Bongstar420]

I've been propagating using selective media for specific bennies to combat the industry wide erosion of quality (in Oregon, the average THC% and over all terpy quality declined by 30% since the last 3 years of legal industry, and its just about everywhere due to inept/nefarious growers selling and trading diseased materials- the disease is marginal and is hardly noticeable to the untrained eye).

Anyways, I was propagating stuff and noticed the strangest mold I have never seen......later on, I then discovered the same mold unsporting off some root tissue of a non-Cannabis species I was experimenting on for propagating VAM. Its likely that VAM sporulates off recently killed root tissues. The short life cycle of a plant is irrelevant to whether or not it develops a symbiosis. The plant I was working has an equally short lifespan to Cannabis yet forms numerous VAM relationships. You can observe the sporocarps of VAM with a lens (.25-1mm in diameter) but the hyphae network is dispersed beyond the eyes capacity as dense hyphae networks would be counter productive to P acquisition. My deduction that I have observed sporulating Glomus is due to the fact that it was from a product which only had Glomus, some Ecto stuff which is white and dies after a week without constant sugar/amino feeds, and a couple species of Bacillus, and another fungi which is distinct and not to be confused with anything that looks like what I saw.

PS.

If you worry about +25ppm P causing Cannabis/VAM relationship problems, here is a freebie, use rock phosphate or other insoluble forms. It should go without saying.

Another freebie, the VAM relationship is optimized by specific combinations of other fungi and bacteria.

all mycorrhizae are obligated to have a host. AM tend to associate with the plants we are growing, rather than trees. The actual difference between ecto and endo is whether or not the mycelia go inside plant cells or just between them.

The only way to see AM fungi is with staining. It is invisible to the naked eye.

The fungus is Weird's photos is just white mold. Soil mycelia look like strings, not like fluff.