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EndomycorrhizaePage 1 | Page 2 Mycorrhizae and Joe's Sustainable FarmExperiments carried out at Kirehully Joe’s Sustainable farm have shown mixed results with field application of mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae applied to coffee, pepper, and citrus nurseries show better establishment and survival rate compared to the uninoculated nurseries. However, mycorrhizae applied to 25 to 30 year old coffee plants show no significant increase in yield when compared to uninoculated plots. These results may throw light on the establishment of native mycorrhizae which has a high survival rate compared to the introduced species. Also, the native species have had the chance to acclimatize themselves to the hardships of nature and accordingly adapted to the coffee farm conditions. This observation has a tremendous bearing on how coffee farmers run their farms. They need to isolate microorganism’s right from their farm and mass multiply it with appropriate technical know-how from agriculture Universities or biotech industries. The second observation is that commercially available mycorrhizae can be applied to nurseries, because the density of the inoculum per square inch of soil is extremely high, there by enabling the microsymbiont to rapidly establish and multiply itself under favorable weather conditions. Hence, nurseries generally respond favorably to mycorrhizal application.
Benefits of Mycorrhizae
Mycorrhizae and High TemperaturesEven though tons of biomass is available inside the plantation, due to high summer temperatures, the rapid biodegradation results in poor quantities of organic matter and humus on the floor bed. This poses further problems for the coffee bush, because in summer the plant requires the maximum amount of nutrient supply for growth and development. In such situations mycorrhizae come to the rescue of the coffee bush by not only conserving nutrients but also supplying the nutrients in the available form. We are of the opinion that the greatest contribution of mycorrhizae is not in the conservation of nutrients or making the availability of phosphorus in P deficient soils, but by its unique mechanism of supplying the plant directly the nutrients, without getting into the soil system. Evolution has a large role to play in this sophisticated mechanism. However, for some reason if the pathway of transfer of nutrients was from the soil system, then most of the nutrients would be lost by way of leaching or fixation.
Modern day coffee farmers employ the slash and burn method of cultivation. This method spells disaster for the future, because the high temperatures during burning kill most of the beneficial microorganisms. In such situations the coffee farmer completely relies on the synthetic fertilizers for the rapid establishment of the plantation. Such areas can be reclaimed by the artificial inoculation of mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae and Synthetic FertilizersIt is true that the pen is mightier than the sword. What took millions of years to evolve can be nullified by the stroke of the pen. We are simply stating that in the present competitive world of farming the watchword is exploitation towards maximizing returns. Further this builds pressure on the scarce natural resources and the mind easily gives way for chemical inputs which reduce the population of beneficial microbes. Research data from all over the world has clearly indicated that with increased application of synthetic fertilizers, the mycorrhizal activity is reduced and the plant ceases to derive benefit from the mycorrhizae. In absence or presence of low levels of fertilizer, the benefits of the mycorrhizal association are maximum. ConstraintsThe vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae have so far not been cultured in the laboratory as a pure culture. These fungi are obligate symbionts. Hence mass multiplication of the fungus in pure culture forms is ruled out. The only way out for the mass multiplication of the inoculum for field application is by growing the fungus with suitable hosts like Sudan grass, Rhodes grass or guinea grass. This root soil mixture can be easily applied to nurseries but production of bulk quantities required for field applications is difficult.
ConclusionThe world is witnessing an exponential growth of human population in the DEVELOPING countries. A time will soon come when the population will be unmanageable and insupportable. The chilling specter of Food security itself is at threat and acts as a weapon for Governments both at the local and International level. Production of food grains and plantation crops has increased many folds putting undue pressure on the land and natural resources. At the same time we need to deeply understand that the earth’s resources are a SINGLE RESERVOIR for all kinds of life. Man has from the very beginning of civilization tried to dominate nature. It is this one sided domination in part which has over the years, resulted in poor judgment in taking care of the precious natural resources. We need to be aware that evolution does not tolerate second best and the damage caused to both forests and coffee, due to human intervention will be irreversible. We have to have a new approach in relearning nature’s simple ways. It is easy to combine the best of nature as well as the best of farming as long as we do not cross the sacred line of intimidating nature’s resources. Infact, in spite of three consecutive years of drought, the coffee mountain has found the resources to sustain itself. This in itself is a testimony to the resilience of nature. In the 21st century there is indeed place for time tested ancient traditions. Solutions for a better world are found hidden in the sacred coffee mountains. Every farmer should be convinced that it is in his interest that the mountain needs to get an upper hand so as to balance nature’s resources. Mycorrhizal associations give nature a unique chance to recover. Ultimately, the solutions come from the land itself. As time is running out to save the coffee parks we are desperately trying to bring our ideas into life with ecofriendly measures that support biodiversity and habitat restoration. The authors wish to express their profound gratitude to: References
Bio-fertilizers for Coffee Plantations Page 1 | Page 2
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