Mycorrhiza: The Ultimate Beneficial Microbe For Growing Medical Marijuana
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Hydroponic supplements like Advanced Nutrients provide beneficial fungus like Mycorrhiza to your hydroponic marijauna.
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Years before commercial farmers had even heard of mycorrhizae, there were medical marijuana growers implementing these beneficial organisms into their gardens. 
Medical marijuana growers are the driving force behind many advancements in agriculture. Of course, the USDA isn’t going to start patting any of us on the back, but it should be noted that many innovative agricultural techniques originally stemmed from testing done by indoor horticulturalists. The use of beneficial mycorrhizae is a good example. There has been a surge in the agricultural use of beneficial organisms that has stemmed from the innovation of medical marijuana growers. Years before commercial farmers had even heard of mycorrhizae, there were medical marijuana growers implementing these beneficial organisms into their gardens.
Growing Cannabis With Mycorrhizae
Mycorrhizae are soil organisms that have a close, symbiotic relationship with the plant’s rhizosphere. The word “mycorrhizae” actually stems from the latin words mycor (fungus) and rhiza (root). The mycorrhizae and roots form a sort of tissue that enlarges the surface absorption area of the roots by 100 to 1000 times. Mycorrhizae create thousands of tiny filaments or threads that act like an extension of the root system. This not only increases the plant’s ability to uptake water but also the ability to uptake vital nutrients.
Medical marijuana plants with supplemented mycorrhizae will never be “held up” by the inability to uptake nutrients. This is very important for indoor horticulturalists that spend vast sums of money on high powered lighting and CO2 enrichment designed to maximize photosynthesis. Mycorrhizae also increase resistance to environmental stresses like drought or cold and reduce shock associated with transplanting. Supplemented mycorrhizae will increase a plant’s efficiency and may even require a reduction in fertilizer concentrations.
There are millions of different mycorrhizae strains, some of which are specific to a given crop. That is one reason I use Piranha by Advanced Nutrients. Advanced Nutrients specifically tests all their beneficial microbes on medical marijuana. The strains used in Piranha are the strains found to be most specific to our particular crop.
Two Types of Mycorrhizal
Mycorrhizae used in horticulture are usually broken into two categories: Endomycorrhizae and Ectomycorrhizae. Both of these subcategories of mycorrhizae are beneficial to plants. This is why you will find both varieties in most mycorrhizae formulas on the market.
Endomycorrhizae are mycorrhizae whose hyphae actually enter the plant’s cells. The hyphae do not penetrate the protoplast but instead turn the cell membrane inside out. This increases the contact surface area between the hypha and the cell cytoplasm which facilitates the transfer of nutrients.
Ectomycorrhizae form between the roots and do not generally enter the plant’s cells. Ectomycorrhizae create a hyphal sheath around the root tip and also a hartig net of hyphae that surround plant cells found within the root cortex. Outside of the root the fungal mycelium forms an extensive network throughout the soil or medium.
These tiny workhorses are an essential part of any medical marijuana garden. The more we understand about the supplementation of beneficial organisms, the more we can supercharge the rest of our garden to maximize performance. High intensity lighting, quality nutrients, and desirable atmospheric conditions teamed with the unseen world of beneficial microbes can make lush growth and bountiful yields commonplace in any medical marijuana garden.
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Monday, 14 May 2012
