Turfgrass |
SYMBIVIT Mycorrhizal Fungi. Turfgrass Applications.
Some benefits of applying SYMBIVIT mycorrhiza to turfgrass
What is SYMBIVIT mycorrhiza and how it works in turfgrass.
The word mycorrhiza means root fungi (From the Greek Myco = fungus, and Rhiza = root). Mycorrhizal fungi play a critical role in the health and productivity of over 90 percent of the Earth’s wild plants, and have done so for hundreds of millions of years. Their urban counter parts, however, aren’t so lucky. In today’s man-made landscape, turfgrass, plants and crops are often denied this helpful ally and important component of soil chemistry.
This group of beneficial soil fungi forms a symbiotic relationship with plants, increasing the absorption of water and nutrients while protecting the plant against pathogens and environmental stresses. The mycorrhiza, in return, receives carbohydrates from the plant. This relationship is prevalent in nature and some scientists have even stated that “the majority of plants, strictly speaking, do not have roots; they have mycorrhizas”.
When mycorrhizal fungi inoculate and colonize plant roots, in this case turfgrass roots, they produce hair-like filaments called hyphae. These filaments act as highly efficient roots, forming a vast network in the soil called mycelium. As this mycelium expands across the fairways and greens, the growing hyphae will inoculate and colonize other roots until the whole field is inoculated and colonized. Mycorrhiza is also known to control soil erosion and play an important role in storing carbon. Once colonized, the mycorrhiza will nearly always stay put for the lifetime of the plant... season after season.
Application techniques
Lawn establishment by seeding. Broadcast or spread approximately 1 oz of SYMBIVIT mycorrhiza per square yard of soil to be seeded. It can be mixed with peat if the soil is too alkaline. Immediately rake to cover the mycorrhiza with soil before seeding.
Lawn establishment by sod. Before laying the sod broadcast or spread approximately 1 oz of SYMBIVIT mycorrhiza per square yard of soil. Immediately lay the sod.
Existing lawn during aeration. After the holes have been made, broadcast or spread 2 oz of SYMBIVIT mycorrhiza. If available remove the cores before applying Symbivit, then brush the surface to help the Symbivit fall into the holes and finalize by applying the hole filler.
Existing lawn with a slit seeder. This is the most efficient technique because no Symbivit is left on the surface. Apply only 1 oz of Symbivit per square yard of lawn, Symbivit can be mixed with seeds or with other additives as needed.
Recommendations:
Avoid using excessive amounts of chemical fertilizers. Avoid systemic fungicides. Chose fungicides that do not inhibit mycorrhizal establishment growth. We have made a list of fungicides and their effect on mycorrhizal.
See list of fungicides here.
Tests and Research
Duinzicht golf course, Netherlands. This test took place in 2006 with the cooperation of the Servaplant Company. SYMBIVIT® was applied during aerification on one half of the selected area. After two months, the treated area had less drought problems. Root samples taken randomly throughout the season proved a better root system of the treated turf.
According to the greenskeeper, Floris Bakker, the amount of chemical fertilizers was lowered by approximately 40% and irrigation was cut down to half. Even with this lower conventional care, the turf treated with SYMBIVIT® was more durable and more resistant to drought. However it should be mentioned that during the hot part of the summer additional fertilization and irrigation was needed but in considerably lower quantities the conventional treated greens.
The following tests were done using a different mycorrhizal formulation called TurfComp, also by Symbiom. The TurfComp formulation contains only 40 mycorrhiza propagules per gram as compared with Symbivit which contains a minimum of 200 ppg.
These experiments show the positive effect of mycorrhizal inocula on turfgrass. Equivalent dosage is given for Symbivit based on the total propagule count applied per unit of area.
Experiments were conducted at:
GOLF JELKA in Slovakia KONOPISTE Golf Resort in the Czech Republic.
Golf Jelka, Slovakia.
Summary: Mycorrhizal product TurfComp® was applied during turf foundation of a new golf green with different irrigation and fertilization regimes. The grass started to germinate 6 days earlier on the non- irrigated site treated with TurfComp® compared to control treatment. After six months of growth, the grass had significantly greater development in terms of root biomass (6 times higher on the site without irrigation and 2.5 times higher on the irrigated site).
Material and methods: In the spring of 2007. Mycorrhizal turf conditioner TurfComp® was applied to a site without regular irrigation and fertilization in doses of 4,000 and 12,000 propagules per square meter (equivalent to 20 and 60 grams of SYMBIVIT per sq. meter respectively). The size of each plot including the control plots was approximately 100 m2. Germination of grass was evaluated at the beginning of the experiment. The root biomass and the mycorrhizal olonization were evaluated six months after the trial establishment on five randomly chosen samples (sizing of 10 x 2.5cm). Mycorrhizal colonization was evaluated as a percentage of root length colonized with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi using a grid- line intersect method.
Results: During the first days after trial establishment the positive effect on the grass germination was visible. On the non-irrigated site treated with TurfComp® germination occurred 6 days earlier than on the control plot. After six months of growth the grass plants had significantly greater development in terms of root biomass and root mycorrhizal colonization on irrigated as well as on the non- irrigated sites treated with TurfComp® as compared to the control plots.
Czech Republic. Objective: Evaluation of effectiveness of mycorrhizal conditioner TurfComp® for professional management of turf and golf courses when applied during growing season on greens in two treatments: 1) Single application at aerification followed with a reduced application of soluble NPK fertilizer (60% of common dose – 15 g per m2), and 2) Repeated application of TurfComp® during vegetation season where second application was done 4 weeks after the first one.
Materials and Methods: Application was conducted on one green at the golf course of the Golf Resort Konopiště in the Czech Republic during the vegetation season of 2007. The mycorrhizal product TurfComp® was applied during turf aerification on an area of 220 m2 (repeated application) and 35 m2 (single application). Measurements on the non-treated control lot were performed on a 20 m2 area. TurfComp® was applied at full recommended rate of 6,000 propagules per m2 (equivalent to 30 grams of SYMBIVIT).
The first evaluation was done 4 months after application. Basic parameters evaluated were root biomass and development of mycorrhizal colonization in the roots. Samples were collected using 20 cores of 10 cm deep with diameter of 2.5 cm. Mycorrhizal colonization was evaluated as percentage of root length colonized with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
Results: After 4 months from application, statistically positive effects of TurfComp® were found on the development of root biomass at 1.5 times higher than control for the single application treatment and 2.5 times higher biomass for the repeated treatment. Mycorrhizal colonization increased 4 and 6 times respectively as compared to a non-inoculated control lot. Treatment with repeated application was significantly better than single treatment.
Video: our mycorrhizal products at the Konopiste Golf Resort in the Czech Republic: