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Beneficial Fungi and Bacteria

Trichoderma are fungi that colonize the root system. Their presence stops harmful fungi from colonizing the same root area. They effectively stimulate root development and increase a plant's ability to handle environmental stress i.e. High temperatures.

Mycorrhiza or "Fungus roots" which are symbiotic with the plant roots on which they occur. This mycorrhiza relationship facilitates the sharing of some of the plant's storehouse of organic compounds (which are essential to fungi, as they are to all living organisms). In addition, water is exchanged along with the organic compounds for assistance from the fungus in the absorption of nutrients like phosphorus and some other minerals. There are endo- and ectomyccorhizae, the endo- aiding in material uptake, the ecto- forming a rhizosphere protecting the roots from potential pathogens or diseases.

Bacteria fall into four functional groups. Most are decomposers that are especially important in immobilizing, or retaining, nutrients in their cells, thus preventing the loss of nutrients, such as nitrogen, from the root zone. They are also responsible for the biochemical breakdown of organic matter into organic compounds and nutrients, and ultimately into its original components. These "good" bacteria are called rhizobacteria, because they occur in the rhizosphere. These bacteria produce a variety of chemicals that stimulate plant growth. While common in natural settings, their populations are often very low or absent in nursery potting soils, urban environments and disturbed manmade landscapes. A second group of bacteria are the mutualists that form partnerships with plants. The most well-known of these are the nitrogen-fixing bacteria. The third group of bacteria is the pathogens, they are harmful to plants. A fourth group, called lithotrophs or chemoautotrophs, obtains its energy from compounds of nitrogen, sulfur, iron or hydrogen instead of from carbon compounds. Some of these species are important to nitrogen cycling and degradation of pollutants.

WHAT DO BACTERIA DO? Bacteria from all four groups perform important services related to water dynamics, nutrient cycling, and disease suppression. In a diverse bacterial community, many organisms will compete with disease-causing organisms in roots and on aboveground surfaces of plants.

A COUPLE OF IMPORTANT BACTERIA: Nitrogen-fixing bacteria form symbiotic associations with the roots of legumes like clover and lupine, and trees such as alder and locust. Visible nodules are created where bacteria infect a growing root hair (Figure 4). The plant supplies simple carbon compounds to the bacteria, and the bacteria convert nitrogen (N2) from air into a form the plant host can use. When leaves or roots from the host plant decompose, soil nitrogen increases in the surrounding area. Nitrifying bacteria change ammonium (NH4+) to nitrite (NO2-) then to nitrate (NO3-) - a preferred form of nitrogen for grasses and most row crops. Nitrate is leached more easily from the soil, so some farmers use nitrification inhibitors to reduce the activity of one type of nitrifying bacteria. Nitrifying bacteria are suppressed in forest soils, so that most of the nitrogen remains as ammonium.

DON'T FORGET TO LOAD UP ON A CARBOHYDRATE SUPPLEMENT WHEN USING BENEFICIALS - THEY NEED FOOD TO THRIVE! Sweet and similar carbohydrate products are primarily a food source for microbial life in either soil or the hydroponic reservoir. The addition of this type of product along with beneficial Fungi & Bacteria will ensure a healthy colony of microorganisms and inturn the most healthy root system and ideal nutrient uptake for your plant.

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