New mycorrhizae inoculant boosts crop resilience with age old symbiotic partnership
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For millions of years plants have evolved in partnership with the many biological species present in soils.
Some of these microbes living in the soil like mycorrhizae fungi (AMF, previously known as VAM) form a highly beneficial relationship with the plant.
AMF colonise the plant roots taking carbohydrates to support their own growth while in return they feed back nutrients and water from the soil to the plant.
Well colonised root systems have been shown to have a 50 fold increase in absorptive capacity vs uncolonised plants.
This confers a much greater ability for crops to access nutrients and moisture from the soil, maximising growth and making crops much more resilient.
AMF have also been shown to increase soil health over time by secreting a carbon rich substance called glomalin that helps bind soil aggregates together, build soil carbon levels and improve water infiltration.
Native mycorrhizae species are present in most soils although modern cropping practices often result in their levels being severely reduced, which limit our crops ability to achieve its full potential.
Cultivation practices break up the network of mycorrhizal hyphae in the soil and other practices such as fallow (particularly long fallow) periods with continual wetting and drying cycles and the growing of non-mycorrhizal crops like canola can significantly deplete the levels of mycorrhizae in our soils.
Predicta B tests for the northern cropping zone tests for AMF levels and the potential for Long Fallow Disorder and is an excellent way of checking levels in the paddock.
With some of the highest fertiliser prices on record it's important to ensure crops have a strong colonisation of mycorrhizae to maximise the efficient capture and uptake of applied nutrition.
Farmers invest significant dollars on synthetic fertilisers and a strong network of mycorrhizae in the soil will ensure that the uptake of these nutrients is maximised and their leeching outside the rootzone is minimised.
Until recently the technology to produce high quality, concentrated, easy to use and cost-effective mycorrhizae inoculants has not been available.
Unlike their rhizobium bacterial inoculant cousins that get applied to legume crops and pastures as a matter of course, mycorrhizae have proved more difficult to develop into similarly successful inoculants, at least until now.
Sumitomo Agrosolutions over recent years has focused considerable efforts into producing high quality, highly useable and affordable mycorrhizae inoculants for use in a range of crops including broadacre grain crops and cotton.
Sumitomo brings considerable experience with biological products, being the first company to develop Bt insecticides decades ago with brands like Dipel, among others.
Sumitomo now have a new highly concentrated liquid mycorrhizae inoculant called EndoFuse that can be easily applied in-furrow or as a seed treatment with a rate range as low as 10-15 mL per ha and mixed with rhizobium inoculants at equivalent rates when treating legume crops like mungbeans and soybeans.
EndoFuse™ contains 4 high performing endo-mycorrhizae species chosen as the ideal consortium to help improve overall crop resilience, nutrient and moisture uptake, crop yield and soil health given yield and quality improvements that have been seen in recent trials.
EndoFuse can provide an excellent return of investment and acts as an excellent insurance policy against non-ideal growing conditions, especially when you factor in that you are also helping build long-term soil health.
According to Sumitomo EndoFuse will provide the greatest benefits this summer where highly mycorrhizae dependent crops are grown like, sorghum, cotton, corn and mungbeans and where levels are low in the soil due to cultivation, long fallow or having previously grown a canola crop.
To find out more about EndoFuse for this coming summer crop season ask your local Ag retailer or you can contact your local Sumitomo Agrosultions representative or visit:
