You Can't Fool Mother Nature

   I recently encountered two bits of information which I found quite interesting regarding Mother Nature.  Are we on the cutting edge of science, or simply delving into areas which "Big Mom" has long since mastered.  I suggest discoveries are just that - "discoveries" of natures inventions.  This week, I will address my two bits of information.  The first is a naturally occurring compound emitted by oak trees and the second is the use of soil inoculants of beneficial fungi for root development of woody ornamentals.  Don't leave yet!  This is not as boring as it sounds.

    First, I will speak of "Isophene".  While listening to talk radio last week, I heard a report about the EPA monitoring oak trees in St. Louis for toxic emissions of "isophene".  Isophene eventually combines with natural compounds to form a derivative of formaldehyde that is carcinogenic to humans.  I presume levels are being monitored to satisfy our curiosity.  Maybe we'll ban the planting of oak trees!  We could file a class action suit against The Nature Conservancy for promoting the planting of oak trees.

    Years ago I observed that I occasionally smell a strong odor of pesticide when I pass through a grove of newly leafed out trees in the spring.  I have often confided this to friends, suggesting that I might write Virginia Tech with my suspicion of nature producing its own pesticides.  I never wrote to Tech,  because my friends always convinced me that the inquiry might wind up in the psychology department.  It has also been suggested that I have been working around shelves filled with pesticides for too long.  I hope not.

    Needless to say, I was excited when I heard about the oaks in St. Louis.  I thought, "Maybe I'm not crazy!"  Upon typing "isophene" into an internet search engine, I was flooded with information on the compound, including the suggestion that certain strains of the botanical insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis produce isophene.  Do plants actually produce compounds similar to man-made pesticides as a natural defense mechanism?  Be this the case, we had all better move to a glass bubble as the character on the fabulous show Northern Exposure did years ago.  (This actor later starred as Dr. Mark Green on E.R.).

    Now to my second subject, soil inoculants as root enhancers.  The November edition of American Nurseryman magazine features an article by Virginia's own Dr. Bonnie Appleton of Virginia Tech.  Dr. Appleton's article is titled Silver Bullet Or Silver Slug? .  In recent years the use of little fungal critters known as "mycorrhizae" have been promoted for use in the landscape to promote superior root development of newly planted trees and shrubs.

    Dr. Appleton is reporting on a long-term study of the effects of such root enhancers.  Generally, these products are a small package of powder containing natural fungi that claim to double or triple the mass of root systems when incorporated into the soil at the time of planting.  The claims are exciting.  Photos usually accompany the product with root systems that make our D. C. road system look simplistic.  Do they work? Sometimes.  Well maybe.

    The study reveals that naturally occurring mycorrhizae in the existing soil provide great benefit.  The application of fertilizer also greatly benefits the density of the root system.  The introduction of commercial products tended to have little or no results, when compared to nature's abilities.  Mother Nature is hard to assimilate.

    While the mycorrhizae products do no harm, they also appear to provide little help.  Our efforts to provide chemical control through pesticides have proven detrimental to our environment.  We are probably on the right track with both concepts, but our administration of such man-made technology is often no match for Mother Nature's superior design of the "scheme of things".  Well, at least I wasn't bored by all of this information.  Until next week.

                                                                             Andy Lynn