Grassland including mycorrhizal

[Jimfandango]

Hi.
I have been interested in the benefits of mycorrhizal fungi to grassland and am looking to incorperate it into a small amount of this years reseeds as a trial with a view to extending it's use. My worry is that I won't be able to control anything I turn up in terms of weed seeds. Although, nobody I have spoken to yet has been able to absolutely confirm that weed control will damage the mycorrhizal (perhaps because they were trying to sell me the stuff) it seems to me that this is what will happen.
My current plan is to undersow spring barley with fungi treated grass seed but I am having second thoughts. My question is this; should I go ahead with this or follow a different plan i.e. a) conventional barley with weed control, and DD grass into the stubble. b) conventional barley and grass without mychorrizhal and overseeding treated seed in year 1 or 2. Especially since if we have a summer like last year there won't be any grass to worry about anyway. c) Something else?

Any conversation about this stuff is appreciated

Cheers

 

[hendrebc]

@Kevtherev

 

[Great In Grass]

We sell grass seeds treated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria to my knowledge chemical sprays has no detrimental effect on either.

 

[Great In Grass]

After digging out my notes it seems Fungicides could prove a problem.

 

[JD-Kid]

heard. of yields on some crops going up if the seed is treated with. seaweed think 1 lt of seaweed. per 40 its water. to treat a ton of seed

 

[Yale]

@Kiwi Pete

 

[Kiwi Pete]

I'd lean towards option B, as above fungicides generally are designed to kill fungii
Are you reasonably sure your soils are completely devoid of mycorrhizal fungii?
Generally it takes a lot of abuse for them not to be present to some extent, has it received lots of chem/slurry/bagged N in the past?

Personally I'd look at undersowing and establishing some legumes under your SB, which will then begin to slowly provide a drip feed of N into the soil, and most are fairly resistant to glyphosate dessication of your cereal crop - then add your grass seed later when this groundcover is reasonably slow-growing or dormant.

You need to realise that many common methods cause the soil to be dominated by bacteria - which is fine while they're being "fed", but when they run out of nitrogen to consume then they eat the fungii, the more labile soil carbon etc before they starve out - pretty much a mirror of the fate of our own decadent species.

So it depends largely on your system and history as to what benefit you'll see, it could likely be a completely futile mission until the factors that favour a good balance of fungii:bacteria have been addressed.