I repost something that Anton posted here back in 2000:

Subject: Is mycorrhiza important?
Date: Friday, June 02, 2000 10:30 AM

There is a mycorrhiza list that is run out of the University of
Guelph and there is a fair amount of research going on around
the world. I have been lurking for several years and so far the
info that I have compiled in a nutshell is:

There are thousands upon thousands of varieties of myc. and then
some. The sale of myc. unless it is registered is not legal in
most areas. (this came from an EPA lawyer). There is a 99.9%
chance the myc. that is commercially available is not compatible
with the plant that you intend to apply it to.

Phosphorous in the soil reduces myc.

Myc. produces carbon traps in the soil.If you use native plants
to your area chances are your plant will inherit it anyways.
Myc. is most beneficial under adverse growing conditions.

.. . . . I do not think that because it is beneficial to a forest
under certain conditions that you can draw the same correlation
to a bonsai container. To prove any of this is almost
impossible.

Anton Nijhuis
Vancouver Island

I've seen nothing in the intervening years that refutes this
information.

That said, the Roots product MAY contain the myc. that go with
specific pines and junipers that are often used for bonsai;
someone gave me a couple of bottles of Roots Plus (which is NOT
the myc. mixture!) and, as usual in these kinds of concoctions,
the labels are uninformative.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Nature
encourages no looseness, pardons no errors. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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In a message dated 11/20/2004 8:28:20 AM Eastern Standard Time,
writes:
There are thousands upon thousands of varieties of myc. and then
some. The sale of myc. unless it is registered is not legal in
most areas. (this came from an EPA lawyer). There is a 99.9%
chance the myc. that is commercially available is not compatible
with the plant that you intend to apply it to.
Anton:

The Roots Innoculant is obviously legal. I do not agree with your statement
about a 99.9% chance of non-compatibility. If this were the case, Roots would
not have made the shift to adding myc to the majority of their products.

Cordially,

Michael Persiano
members.aol.com

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On 23 Nov 2004 at 5:35, Michael Persiano wrote:



. . . I do not agree with your statement about a 99.9%
chance of non-compatibility. If this were the case, Roots
would not have made the shift to adding myc to the majority
of their products.




Of course they might add stuff to their concoction; they can
advertise it and sell it to the unsuspecting. As long as it
doesn't hurt anything . . .

Look at gasoline additives -- mostly hogwash. Look at cold
remedies -- ditto. It's the Holiday Season. Start looking at
these all-in-one tools (sold on TV for 19.95) -- worthless! Or
the kitchen gadgets -- ditto. Look at any number of "miracle"
products out there. The only "miracle" is to the seller's
pocketbook. If you claim some magical or lazy-man's benefit,
buyers will come.

And, of course, some of the myc in these products may match. ;-)

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The cynic's
cynic

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(Jim Lewis) wrote in message news:419EFFD0.3776.357EE4@localhost...
Of course they might add stuff to their concoction; they can
advertise it and sell it to the unsuspecting. As long as it
doesn't hurt anything . . .

I'm sure I've told this story before, but may as well again:

I was once hired to test a mycoherbicide by the company that produced
it. In order to get the control treatment right, I asked them to
provide me with the inert ingredients of the mixture minus the active
ingredient, which in this case was a microorganism. They refused. I
insisted. They reluctantly agreed. So I tested the organism alone,
the organism plus the inert ingredients, and the inert ingredients
alone. It turned out the microorganism had little effect against the
disease, it was the "inert ingredients", one of which was highly
refined mineral oil, which is known to have protective effect against
fungi and insects. Eventually my boss and I found out that the
company was not interestred in marketing a mineral oil; they were
interested in marketing a "natural" product. No harm done, since the
product did, in fact, work. But it makes you highly suspicious.

Nina, who is glad she doesn't have to take money from pesticide
companies any more.

(Jim Lewis) wrote in message news:419EFFD0.3776.357EE4@localhost...
Of course they might add stuff to their concoction; they can
advertise it and sell it to the unsuspecting. As long as it
doesn't hurt anything . . .

I'm sure I've told this story before, but may as well again:

I was once hired to test a mycoherbicide by the company that produced
it. In order to get the control treatment right, I asked them to
provide me with the inert ingredients of the mixture minus the active
ingredient, which in this case was a microorganism. They refused. I
insisted. They reluctantly agreed. So I tested the organism alone,
the organism plus the inert ingredients, and the inert ingredients
alone. It turned out the microorganism had little effect against the
disease, it was the "inert ingredients", one of which was highly
refined mineral oil, which is known to have protective effect against
fungi and insects. Eventually my boss and I found out that the
company was not interestred in marketing a mineral oil; they were
interested in marketing a "natural" product. No harm done, since the
product did, in fact, work. But it makes you highly suspicious.

Nina, who is glad she doesn't have to take money from pesticide
companies any more.