Poor guava growth? Use Trichoderma plus fortified fertilizer to control root-knot nematodes for a bountiful, tasty harvest

A great ally for plants against pests and diseases, Trichoderma is here! After 17 years of research and development, the Taichung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station selected Trichoderma TCT768, which suits Taiwan's environment. Added to compost and spread over fields and orchards, it lets crops quickly absorb nutrients, grow stronger and more vigorous, and can induce beneficial bacteria, helping plants resist the troublesome "root-knot nematode."

In recent years, because of climate change, root-knot nematodes have become a headache for all kinds of crops, especially guava and dragon fruit; after a long period of cultivation, root-knot nematodes appear on the roots. But if actinomycetes are used directly for control, the application rate will more or less affect the control effect, and the raw bacteria cost 1800-2000 yuan per kilogram, which is quite expensive. To lower farmers' costs, inoculating spent mushroom waste with Trichoderma can produce compost containing large amounts of actinomycetes, which has both fertilizer value and actinomycetes, is cheap and works even better.

At present, the Taichung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station has transferred the Trichoderma technology and cooperated with industry operators to develop the solid fertilizer "Gubaojun" and a liquid fertilizer, testing them in central Taiwan guava orchards, bitter gourd fields and many other crops, with remarkable results: on average they can reduce fruit drop by 30%, while raising yields by 25%-50%.

Tailor-made tropical strain helps plants resist extreme weather

As the name suggests, Trichoderma was originally "a fungus found on moldy wood." In the laboratory of Chen Junwei, director of the Puli Branch of the Taichung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, he brought out past cultured and preserved Trichoderma strains and introduced them: "There are many varieties of Trichoderma, commonly divided into temperate and tropical types. Because Taiwan's climate is hot and humid, we finally selected the tropical type TCT768."

Recalling the starting point of the research, Chen Junwei, director of the Puli Branch of the Taichung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station, said: "Actually, the main focus at the beginning was not Trichoderma, but compost." Starting in 93 of the Republic of China [2004], the Taichung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station researched compost. To improve the odor during compost fermentation, researchers kept searching for materials that could speed up fermentation, and that is how they found Trichoderma.

Speeding up nutrient decomposition, Trichoderma becomes the crops' guard force

Trichoderma is a type of fungus; the common shiitake and wood ear mushrooms in supermarkets are its relatives. The key to speeding up fermentation is that it can decompose cellulose, breaking the originally larger cellulose into smaller monosaccharides and disaccharides, making it easy for bacteria to consume. It is like a newborn baby needing its mother to chew food first so it is easier to swallow.

The protective mechanism Trichoderma exerts on plants is: Trichoderma first converts nutrients into monosaccharides and disaccharides, which stimulates the proliferation of actinomycetes that feed on monosaccharides, and actinomycetes can suppress an important crop pest: the root-knot nematode. Actinomycetes multiply in large numbers in the soil and decompose the root-knot nematodes and their eggs, which are made of chitin, thereby protecting the plants.

Add Trichoderma, and the value of spent mushroom wood chips increases tenfold

The opportunity for the Taichung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station to develop compost with added Trichoderma was to solve two major agricultural wastes across Taiwan: chicken manure and spent mushroom wood chips. After 6 years of screening, Trichoderma TCT768, suited to Taiwan's climate, was selected, and through the introduction of Lin Zhangji, chairman of the Taichung Taiping District Farmers' Association, cooperation with the Taichung Jingyuan Mushroom Farm began in 105 of the Republic of China [2016].

Jingyuan Mushroom Farm, which has been operating for 18 years, has a huge plant that can hold 288,000 mushroom bottles, mainly producing king oyster mushrooms. Wood, rice bran, soybean meal and so on are filled into sterilized plastic bottles, then king oyster mushroom spawn is inoculated and they can multiply and grow. Since each bottle of king oyster mushrooms is harvested only once, unlike shiitake mushrooms which are harvested continuously, the material underneath is still rich in nutrients, making it good material for compost.

Behind the plant, two small hills are piled up: one is the material for filling the plastic bottles, and the other is the waste material after mushroom cultivation, producing 8 tonnes of waste every day. Farm director Lin Zhangde said: "In the past, this waste was sold to recycling yards, and one truckload could bring in at most 4000 to 5000 yuan. Now it is used as compost material, and the same truckload by weight can bring back 60,000 yuan."

The production process of Trichoderma compost is: first add Trichoderma to a liquid compost inoculant for culturing, then add it to spent mushroom waste for piled fermentation, and after 1-2 months it can be packed into bags and given to farmers to spread.