Just like every other organism on the planet a
plant does not function independently
health and growth depends on a partnership
between specialist bacteria and fungi
plants, fungi and bacteria form a wonderful
system based on trading products
how does it work? fungi and bacteria supply
nutrients from the soil that would otherwise be
hard to reach and Exchange for this armed
supplies sugars in the form of glucose
to explain the system we will explain bacteria
and fungi separately
Plans have a problem their fine absorption roots
have a limited capacity
volume and are on average not thicker than a hair
they don't live long only one to three weeks as
you can see plants need external help. plants use
their absorption roots to forge a partnership
If they can't find partners they'll die
if they succeed it's the start of a beautiful
relationship from now on a symbiosis can be
created
minerals are hard to mine from the soil but
Rhizobacteria are specialized in this process
particularly when it comes to releasing phosphate
which is very important for the plant
these bacteria also carry out countless other
important tasks including one which is very
special. Rhizobacteria
form a sort of natural defense system around the
roots anything attacking the plot is kept outside
by the physical presence of these Rhizobacteria
they ensure that there is no room for
disease causing bacteria they have their own
interest in this because the plant provides them
with food however the bacteria also need help
they're not travelers
the bacterial colonies do not move back and forth
from minerals to the roots
Most minerals found in soil located outside the
reach of the roots and therefore also out of the
reach of Rhizobacteria these can only live near
the roots as we have seen before the zone of
absorption is therefore very limited
Mycorrhizal fungi is able to drastically increase the
absorption capacity
It may sound like a modern development but it's not
the fungus has always existed but due to
modernization its role has been neglected
due to many years of using synthetic fertilizers
Mycorrhizal fungi is only very sporadically found in
agricultural soils
Mycorrhizal fungi have always lived in
symbiotic relation with the plant roots
Mycorrhizal fungus forms a living connection
within the roots and creates an absorption and
transport system this is essential for healthy
plans growth Mycorrhiza in the roots
Is just as normal as chlorophyll in the leaves
this is beyond doubt as stated before the
absorption roots of plants are zero point two
millimeters thick this means that they can only
grow in micro pores as shown here
now we zoom in to see what happens when the plant
gets help from the Mycorrhizal fungus
the fungal threads are even thinner than most
bacteria
they are only as thick as three microns
this means that these thin threads grow easily in
the micro pores where the majority of nutrients
and water are stored
Without help a plant would never be able to reach
these areas
it's not just the roots but also the fungal
threads that are responsible for the absorption
of nutrients and water
the long thin fungal hyphae that fully takes
over the absorption of materials from the roots
are able to provide disease resistance
distantly located minerals that are bound to iron
and calcium and now easier to absorb
these fine threads or sophia can easily be a
kilometer long in just one teaspoon of soil
Mycorrhizal fungi
cause absorption capacity to be seven times
higher than average this means that growing can
be done with less water and that we'd have far
less chance to thrive do to competition for space
the benefit to the fungi is the glucose produced
by the plants for the plants the benefit is a
larger absorption zone
this unique and constant interaction between the
plant bacteria and fungi creates a really
fantastic symbiosis
the payouts the plants
provides to its partners is water, minerals and
glucose
here we can see a clear difference between an
absorption system without and with Mycorrhizae
fungi
the plant on the left is entirely dependent on
the ph value of the soil and the supply of
minerals
the plans on the right has roots that are able to
ultimately self regulate the ph level and
absorption via Mycorrhizae fungi the symbiosis
between plant fungi and bacteria is not only a
great partnership it is absolutely vital