Thanks again Thomas. I did some research on Zeolite and it seems to be a usefull tool. I have also been to the japanese web site. Dr Ishii said that charcoal can raise the pH when used in amount exceeding 20 tons per hectare. That was not my intention any way. I do use charcoal in smaller amounts always in combination with other organic materials that do decrease pH. Regarding Fermented X Unfermented organic matter that is a japanese nightmare also. For some reason they cannot apply unfermented organic material to their soils without running into the trouble of having larvae of flies developing and damaging their crops specially soyben small plants. Therefore they have devised the so called " Bokashi" or fermented Soil with Fish meal, Canola meal, chicken manure, Rice bran and Bone meal. Here in Brazil we can add those products straight to the soil without the problem of attracting any pests and therefore we can do " Sheet Composting" prior to planting.
Jose > Hi Jose, > > Charcoal is inert but it can raise soil pH levels. Zeolite is inert and > will not generally change pH, but it depends upon what kind of zeolite you > are using. Some zeolites are clay like material. All zeolites are formed > in volcanic clay beds that have been put under high heat. The zeolite I > have looks like sand. > > Don't misunderstand, zeolite is not a carrier of VAM fungi. Don't think > that if you find zeolite that you will also find VAM fungi. The particular > form of zeolite we are using is mixed with other material to serve as a > carrier material for the mycorrhizal fungi (endo and ecto species) and > various forms of beneficial bacteria that have been added to our product > (BioVam). > > I was reading some papers written by a mycologist (Dr. Takaaki Ishii) who > lives in Japan. He noted that zeolite was a better amendment than charcoal > because it will not change soil pH. He made the statement that charcoal > will change soil pH, while zeolite will not. Here's a URL you can go to and > read what Dr. Ishii says about charcoal and zeolite ... > http://www.bio.kpu.ac.jp/pomlab/Vaminf.html . > > Note also what Dr. Ishii writes about ethyline and unfermented organic > material in the paragraph above the one on soil amendments. .5 ppm of > ethylene released from unfermented organic matter can severely inhibit the > mycorrhizal fungi. > > I am finding that VAM fungi levels will drop and that additional annual > applications can keep the levels up and will improve plant performance over > the long run. I am treating the fungi as a naturally declining resource > that requires annual application in order to get good long term benefits. > I've yet to find a way to sustain the levels much above what naturally > occurs. > > Best Regards, > Thomas Giannou > http://www.tandjenterprises.com > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Jose Luiz Moreira Garcia" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Thursday, December 20, 2001 3:49 PM > Subject: Re: Charcoal and VAM > > > > Hi Thomas, > > > > As far as I know charcoal is inert and therefore cannot affect soil pH. > > I will investigate Zeolite but I am affraid that we do not have it down > > here. > > The idea is to use some clay ( is Zeolite a clay type of material ?) > > to adsorb ( not absorb) odours and other organic material right ? > > The information that Zeolite is the carrier of VAM is a good one. > > Thanks for the lead. > > > > Jose > > >
