The spores come from mushrooms harvested from the wild as well as from cultivated areas around the world. Plants link up with specific fungi, so Mycorrhizal Applications makes custom mixes for commercial clients in a liquid, powder, or gel. The spores can be mixed with potting soil, dripped on through irrigation, sprayed on by crop-duster, or dropped in the soil at planting time. Amaranthus won t divulge financial information but says last year Mycorrhizal Applications sold enough spores to inoculate 200 million plants. They are gearing up to produce enough for 1 billion plants.
Amaranthus business is small.
The company supplies beneficial bacteria as well as mycorrhizal spores for arborists, nurseries, landscapers, turf farms, golf courses, and fruit and vegetable growers. We think that because of regulation of soil fumigants as well as increasing regulation of certain classes of chemical pesticide, more and more growers are becoming open to and interested in the below-ground ecology of the plant, said President Wayne Wall. Mount Angel hops grower John Annen tried some spores to see if they would help him root a difficult strain of hops in the greenhouse. He began using them on everything after his success rate nearly doubled. He said the hops treated with mycorrhizae have bigger root systems, need less fertilizer, and resist insects better, allowing him to skip one application of insecticide.