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Mycorrhiza Soil Amendments |
Plants root systems are composed of finely branched root hairs that determine the amount of soil a plant can mine for nutrients. Plants with larger root systems are able to mine more soil for nutrients, and in return make the plant healthier and much denser. Mycorrhiza is a soil fungi that attaches to the root system of plants, providing the plants with soil nutrients by colonizing and spreading out thin fungal filaments, which can grow out past the root hairs, allowing the plant to access larger amounts of soil nutrients and water. Undisturbed soil is loaded with mycorrhiza fungi, but once soil has been eroded, graded, excavated, or left with little of the original topsoil, the amount of mycorrhiza is greatly decreased. This makes it harder for plants to grow and be healthy, especially in times of drought where the root system must be vast to find the small amounts of water they are given. |
This picture shows grass growing in two different containers that were planted at the same time. The container on the left is rich with mycorrhiza fungi, and the container on the right has small amounts of mycorrhiza fungi. As you can see the plant on the left is growing much thicker and faster than the plant on the right, and is occupying the whole container. |