Can we manipulate mycelial networks for a tree's benefit?

[pineislander]

I practice some techniques that aren't always common in standard orchards. I interplant under over and around my trees with different plants trying to emulate something more like nature. I plant legumes, vegetables, herbs, flowers and ground covering plants dense enough that they form a community. Every so often I go through and trim these plants so they aren't competing for light, moisture or space. I call these cuttings "chop & drops" because usually the prunings are left in place as a mulch.

About 1-1/2 months ago I did a chop & drop in an area and this week noticed that two trees in particular had just taken a huge stride in growth. They had been poking along all summer and even though we haven't had any change in rain or weather something had really happened. They are nearly 3 year old Rollinia which hasn't really done too well, looked a little yellow and hadn't grown a lot through the season and a 3 year old Breadfruit . Around them was a great growth of a ground covering plant called Longevity spinach(Gynura procumbens). When cut it probably amounted to a wheelbarrow load of fresh green matter that I put aroud each tree.

I've heard some people speak of how pruning adjacent plants sends "information" out into mycelial networks communicating signals for growth and renewal. On the other side, when plants die off or senesce, an opposite signal might occur towards a reduction of growth or a dormancy and pulling back of resources. The reaction of these trees to just the stimulus of pruning around them has really got me thinking.

What do you think?

here is an article explaining some of what science research has found:
https://www.the-scientist.com/features/plant-talk-38209

here is the Rollinia, it has flushed better than it ever has, about a foot of growth:


here is the Breadfruit, it did Ok through the summer rainy season, but has suddenly jumped nearly 2 feet:

[Oolie]

Most likely you're seeing a growth flush in response to ample roots to support a recently shrunk canopy.

There has been lots of research into fungi and their support of of soil as it relates to arboreal root systems.

I would start with a broader search of arbuscular mycorrhyzia, and from there narrow it down into the specific idea which you want to investigate.

Be certain to investigate thoroughly and give the most credit to peer-reviewed literature. There is much speculation and misunderstanding out there.

[SeaWalnut]

Mycorrhizae tend to favor the plants that feed them the most sugars.
Once you cut the green part of the weeds ,you stopped the photosynthesys and sugar production and now the fungi can focus more on another plants even if they dont like them as much as the plants you chooped.
Yellow leaves sugar apple maybe chlorotic ,could have benefited by the iron in the leaves from the mulch.
Spinach leaves are known to have iron and doesnt matter if yours is not normal spinach because any green leaves contain it and its a fast absorbtion organic ( chelated allready) iron.

I use mycorhizae supplement whenever i plant any seed or tree.

[skhan]

I've heard of research that suggests than when a tree is dying or killed it will dump its energy reserves into the mycelia.
The energy (carbohydrates I think) will then be transmitted to other trees not necessarily from the same species.

Researchers spoke about their findings on Science Friday on NPR a few years ago

[Mike T]

The research that showed airborne phytochemicals allowed even fairly distant plants to communicate caused quite a stir considering just how much it seems to happen. Coordinating flowering and early warning of animal attack or drought that allows plants to do things like speed up development of flowers or close stomates and produce defensive chemicals is well know and accepted now.
Communicating by sound as suggested in the article seems to be new territory.
I know chemical communication through connected roots as been postulated but through mycelia which is really a third party is hard to get your head around but obviously not as crazy as it sounds. Maybe people who play music to their plants and that idea that plants feel pain are not so crazy either.

[achetadomestica]

Perhaps next time only mulch half of the trees in the area and try to have something to
compare? The way you have your rows maybe chop and drop every other row each month?

I added mycorrhizae to several new seedlings and I didn't see any difference in growth then
the ones I didn't add? I use a potting mix which has some rabbit manure and compost and I read that good
organic potting soil already has the mycorrhizae? I guess I have seen the advertisements where the
mycorrhizae company shows a 20 pound pumpkin next to a 5 pound pumpkin and claims their
product will have spectacular results. I haven't seen it and I didn't buy more mycorrhizae?
 

[pineislander]

Most of my trees are mixed species in this zone so it isn't so easy to do a controlled experiment. We are just late in the season which has been low on rainfall. There has been no added fertility to those trees since 9 months ago to account for the growth flush except cutting a lot of plants back. We did have much more rain in July but no growth like that. I did the same for fifty 1-1/2 year old mango trees and they flushed but they have been continuously flushing all season.

[Oolie]

Perhaps next time only mulch half of the trees in the area and try to have something to
compare? The way you have your rows maybe chop and drop every other row each month?

I added mycorrhizae to several new seedlings and I didn't see any difference in growth then
the ones I didn't add? I use a potting mix which has some rabbit manure and compost and I read that good
organic potting soil already has the mycorrhizae? I guess I have seen the advertisements where the
mycorrhizae company shows a 20 pound pumpkin next to a 5 pound pumpkin and claims their
product will have spectacular results. I haven't seen it and I didn't buy more mycorrhizae?

Much of the marketing applies only to specific strains in specific circumstances, outside of which a network may fail to develop which shows remarkable results.

It's a perfect example of why much of what's written needs to be supported with actual research driven data.

[SeaWalnut]

Perhaps next time only mulch half of the trees in the area and try to have something to
compare? The way you have your rows maybe chop and drop every other row each month?

I added mycorrhizae to several new seedlings and I didn't see any difference in growth then
the ones I didn't add? I use a potting mix which has some rabbit manure and compost and I read that good
organic potting soil already has the mycorrhizae? I guess I have seen the advertisements where the
mycorrhizae company shows a 20 pound pumpkin next to a 5 pound pumpkin and claims their
product will have spectacular results. I haven't seen it and I didn't buy more mycorrhizae?

I use mycorrhizae because i dig the land every year and destroy the fungus webs in the soil.

[pineislander]

I expect my soil has developed a good microbe community since it has living and placed mulches, compost, etc. and doesn't get disturbed for a couple of years now except pruning and additions on top. Besides the perennial plants around the trees I have settled on using a legume which makes a good soil cover without twining up on trees. It grows about 2-3 feet tall with heavy leaves, has large seeds which germinate easily, lasts for six months, nodulates well and produces lots of seed. It is called Canavalia ensiformis, the white seeded variety. Pods are edible when at the young green bean stage but not dried. Planting by soaking seeds overnight and pushing them 2 inches deep can't be easier. Space 2 feet apart. As they grow up you can bend them down the way you want them to grow or prune to encourage desnser growth and low branching. You can see it to the left of the breadfruit, planted last May. When pods dry I will cut the plants and leave root mass in the ground to recover the nitrogen.


This shows the nodulation:



Known as Jack bean or Feijao de porco in Brazil, here is a video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBjQeERemlE

[Frog Valley Farm]

The best way to increase fungal network is by increasing organic matter IN THE SOIL.  The best way to have a continuous dynamic feed for the microbes of organic matter into the soil is with living roots, not mulch ON THE SURFACE.  The root hairs and exudates contribute more to making stable organic matter than litter or mulch on the soil surface which mostly turns into gas.  The living roots provide microbes constant food which create active soil matter that is in a plant available form of nutrition.  The single best source for this active organic matter is a biodiverse mix of a living mulch grass, herbs/weeds, legumes.  Not wood chip mulch not a monocrop of grass or monocrop of perennial peanut, etc..

Seed grown citrus at 1 year (grapefruit X) received zero inputs and no supplemental watering, size at 1 year 5’ x 3’.

[GangstaRIB]

I don't think this is due to any one phenomena. There are a few possibilities. By chopping competition for water, nutrients, etc is reduced as the plant you chopped doesn't require as much to sustain it's smaller stature. Also just like when you cut the grass, plants are minimalists and the roots themselves likely died back quite a bit. You also have organic matter from the chop and drop. This conserves moisture and breaks down giving your other plants more Nitrogen and also boosting bacterial growth in the soil. If you don't ever fertilize in a traditional sense you just fertilized by doing your chop and drop especially with your leafy legumes. Alfalfa meal makes a great organic fertilizer and this is essentially what you have made. You have also released a good amount of hormones and micro-nutrients back into the soil as well.

As for the mycelial networks? I couldn't tell you and I don't think science can yet either. We really... really... need science to step in and study our soil biology. We would have to know which myco infects the tree/bush in question vs which ones infect your cover crop. In general most trees tend to associate with ectomycorizzae and most grasses weeds tend to associate with endomycorizzae so it's probably not likely, but I can tell you for sure that your diverse plant habitat is certainly beneficial for the mycorizzae that are infecting your host plant, so keep doing what you are doing. The other crops certainly help foster a healthy soil biology which in turn will help support other fungal populations and mycos as well.

Remember Fungal mycelium are only 1 cell think and do not posses an immune system like other multicellular organisms. They do produce some compounds to help fight pathogenic organisms (where we have made many of our own antibiotics) but this alone is not enough for the organism to survive. Fungi MUST work with other organisms to supplement its own immune system and so the bio diversity you are providing in your environment is absolutely helping the fungi.

One possibility as well is that the AMF the other plants were associated with died back somewhat leaving room and resources for the AMF that has infected the target plant to thrive.... We need more research for sure.

I practice some techniques that aren't always common in standard orchards. I interplant under over and around my trees with different plants trying to emulate something more like nature. I plant legumes, vegetables, herbs, flowers and ground covering plants dense enough that they form a community. Every so often I go through and trim these plants so they aren't competing for light, moisture or space. I call these cuttings "chop & drops" because usually the prunings are left in place as a mulch.

About 1-1/2 months ago I did a chop & drop in an area and this week noticed that two trees in particular had just taken a huge stride in growth. They had been poking along all summer and even though we haven't had any change in rain or weather something had really happened. They are nearly 3 year old Rollinia which hasn't really done too well, looked a little yellow and hadn't grown a lot through the season and a 3 year old Breadfruit . Around them was a great growth of a ground covering plant called Longevity spinach(Gynura procumbens). When cut it probably amounted to a wheelbarrow load of fresh green matter that I put aroud each tree.

I've heard some people speak of how pruning adjacent plants sends "information" out into mycelial networks communicating signals for growth and renewal. On the other side, when plants die off or senesce, an opposite signal might occur towards a reduction of growth or a dormancy and pulling back of resources. The reaction of these trees to just the stimulus of pruning around them has really got me thinking.

What do you think?

here is an article explaining some of what science research has found:
https://www.the-scientist.com/features/plant-talk-38209

here is the Rollinia, it has flushed better than it ever has, about a foot of growth:


here is the Breadfruit, it did Ok through the summer rainy season, but has suddenly jumped nearly 2 feet: