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BYGL Industry Insight April 3, 2008 A FUNGUS AMONG-US
BYGL Industry Insight April 3, 2008 A FUNGUS AMONG-US
| A FUNGUS AMONG-US |
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Dave Dyke reported that he received a call from a greenhouse grower this past fall who was experiencing a very unusual problem with bales of growing media that he had stored in a pole through most of the summer. When he removed the bales to pot up bulbs, he found that many of the bales were sprouting huge quantities of mushrooms through the shrink-wrapping. He had already potted some tulip bulbs using the "fungulated" media before calling Dave. Dave examined the bales of affected media, and found them to be densely packed with fungal mycelia. He consulted with Dr. Harry Hoitink (Professor Emeritus, OSU Plant Pathology), a leading expert on composting and mulches, and learned that the heavy concentration of mycelia could form rubber-like masses within the media producing hydrophobic conditions, as well as other problems. Dr. Hoitink strongly recommended against using the media, and the grower followed his recommendation. Indeed, the tulips that had been planted in the fungal-fouled media before Dave was consulted were all uniformly stunted, with some yellowing and tip browning. None were saleable, even 6 weeks after emergence. On the flip side, all of the bulbs planted in the media that had been sent as a replacement were very high quality. |
| Last Updated ( Thursday, 10 April 2008 18:24 ) |
