TOPIC: fungicides, mycorrhizae and more

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking for a while and thought I should finally join in. I really appreciate all your expertise and advise!

The forum has been slow lately and I hope thus will stir things up a little.

I've had very little success with the wild-simulated method thus far, just letting them fend for themselves. I know this could be due to many reasons including soil, light, pests, predation, poor seed quality, disease, etc. I planted early last Spring and only had 5-10 % survival in a few different plots. I had ~95 % germination indoors but almost all of the seedlings succumbed to damping off. I DID NOT bleach the seed because they were all smiling and sprouting and I was worried I would kill them. Do you guys bleach smiling seed? If so, what's a safe concentration of bleach?
I'm convinced my ginseng was diseased from the supplier so I am on an anti-fungal research quest. I just bought some more seed for another spring planting and I'm determined to get better results this year.

I've read many of the previous threads on mycorrhizal communities and I'm very interested in their fungicidal properties. I would prefer treating my seeds and plants with a naturally occurring beneficial microorganism than synthetic carcinogens.

After much googling and searching this site, the most beneficial seem to be Streptomyces (bacteria in Actinovite) and Trichoderma (Ampac Biotech). I'm considering doing a comparison study this year.

Does anyone have any updates using these or other similar anti-fungal microorganisms?
I assume that most chemical fungicides would not be selective enough to distinguish between the \"ggod\" and the \"bad\" fungi and I would prefer not to continually spray toxins. However, I am interested in hearing what fungicial regimens have worked for all of you.

Looking forward to your responses, hopefully we can all help each other increase our crop yield!

TheLittleMan.
I would go with maybe only 5% bleach and soak for 10 minutes as long as the seed are not sprouting tails. Then drain and spread the seed on a sheet under a ceiling fan blowing down to dry for about 30 minutes or starts getting a chaulk white look. Once you rebag them they will still have enough moisture to return to a normal color.

I've had good luck with actinovate right before planting. I would put a teaspoon of powder in a pound of seed and shake it coating the seed then plant. Actinovate works well with transplanting roots in a solution of water dipping and watering each root.

rootman

Welcome to the forum!

Thanks Rootman,

I will definitely coat my seeds with Actinovite and use uncoated seeds as a control. Has anyone actually seen increased survival and growth?

Unfortunately 40-50% of my seeds have small tails and I'm worried about the bleach. I'm considering using a VERY low concentration. What do you think would be the lowest safe, effective concentration?

I would like to spray a pre-emergent fungicide (perhaps Copper sulfate) but I don't know how this will affect the Streptomyces bacteria in the Actinovite. I assume it would kill any mycorrhizal fungus that I use.

I may be overanalyzing this but I don't want to waste my time and money.

I'm very interested to hear how everyone else deals with disease.

Thanks!

I would stick to the mycorrhizal treatment since the seeds are tailing.
Just my thoughts,
LAtt

I have treated seed with 10% clorox solution where a high percentage were cracked and smiling and had good very good germination.

10% is what Scott recommends in his book (in more than one place) and he also said it is normal for several to be smiling when brought up from stratification, and he treats them then.

Mike over at HWG said that he treats his 1 and 2 year old rootlets that he sells with a milder clorox solution... more like 3%.

If you can treat roots with a mild solution, I expect you can as well seed that is tailing.

TNhunter

Thanks TNhunter,

It makes sense, the tailing seeds should be tolerant of a lower concentration of bleach like the roots. Have you used Actinovite?

I'm planning to use the Trichoderma Plant Helper as well. Has anybody used it here on this forum???? This seems like a no-brainer based on the Wisconsin study.

A full blown study with proper controls would be quite a project but I think it'd be worth it in the end.

I agree with TN. 10 % bleach solution is fine for tailing or smiling ginseng seeds. I just thought you were entertaining the idea of using AMF and bleach would kill it. Here is a link below pertaining to AMF. Pics of roots treated with AMF are NOTICIBLY larger larger and healthier than without.

www.ampacbiotech.net/research/ginseng/ginsengslide.html

www.wildgrown.com/index.php/Ginseng-Foru...nd-Ginseng.html#8107

Good luck,
Latt

Thanks Latt, I've read that article in it's entirety and it is pretty convincing. However it is the company's own research and it could be a little biased. Have you used it and seen any differences?
I plan to inoculate my seeds with Actinovate alone, Plant Helper alone, BOTH, and of course some control seeds with neither. I will also apply again one or twice during the growing season. I will bleach the seed PRIOR to inoculation. I'm still on the fence about putting down a pre-emergent spray of some kind. I've been searching for information on Trichoderma and Streptomyces resistance to fungicides but I can't seem to find anything.

All that worrying for nothing. I soaked a few seeds with the longest tails in 10% bleach for 10 min and they are sprouting just fine 3 days later.
I'm patiently waiting for a break in the weather up here and highs will only be in the low 40s all week. My seeds are tailing in the fridge and I really want to get them in the ground but at this point I'm considering waiting for Spring to actually get here. All sources say Spring planting is risky and the tailing seeds can be damaged while planting. If I was extremely careful with them while planting and waited a few more weeks, I might increase survival by not exposing them to freezing temps.
What do you guys think?