User:Walter A. Wood/Licorice Root Mulch

Licorice Root Mulch is

Licorice root mulch is a natural soil amendment and mulch manufactured by MAFCO, which is headquartered in Camden New Jersey. MAFCO, formerly known as McAndrews and Forbes, steams and extracts various compounds from the perennial root of glycyrrhiza glabra without chemicals and the mulch is the sterilized remains of the extraction process.

Glycyrrhiza glabra is a perennial herb and member of the Leguminosae family of plants. All Leguminosae family members have a symbiotic relationship with the soil borne rhizobia bacteria which fix atmospheric nitrogen (NH4+) in the roots of the host plant. The *Carbon to Nitrogen (C/N) ratio of licorice root mulch is 24.43:1, which means there is sufficient nitrogen for both the mycelium required for decomposition and ornamental plants, vegetables or fruit bearing species. As the mulch decomposes it releases the ammonium and 11 other nutrients while naturally conditioning the soil, which means the use of it naturally reduces the need for manufactured nitrogen based fertilizers.

A compost analysis of licorice root mulch found the following nutrients available:

pH = 5.56 (C) carbon –to – (N) Nitrogen Ratio = 24.43 to 1

PRIMARY MACRONUTRIENTS % BIOMASS BY WEIGHT – DRY % BIOMASS BY WEIGHT – WET LBS / TON

(N) Nitrogen 1.92 0.598 11.96 (P) Phosphorus 0.02 0.006 0.12 (P2O5) 0.05 0.016 0.32 (K) Potassium 0.08 0.025 0.50 (K2O) 0.10 0.031 0.62

SECONDARY MICRONUTRIENTS (Ca) Calcium 2.04 0.636 12.72 (Mg) Magnesium 0.15 0.047 0.94 (Na) Sodium 0.02 0.006 0.12 (S) Sulphur 0.06 0.019 0.38 (C) Carbon 46.84 14.61 292.20

MICRONUTRIENTS PARTS PER MILLION -DRY PARTS PER MILLION – WET LBS / TON (B) Boron 2.52 0.79 0.0002 (Fe) Iron 1105.17 344.81 0.690 (Mn) Manganese 31.67 9.88 0.020 (Cu) Copper 8.25 2.57 0.0005 (Zn) Zinc 12.68 3.96 0.008 (Cl) Chloride 197.50 61.62 0.123

Macronutrients

Primary nutrients: (N) nitrogen – essential component of all proteins, (P) phosphorus – necessary for the conversion of light into energy and (K) potassium – reduces water loss and increases drought tolerance.

Secondary nutrients: (Ca) calcium - regulates transport of other nutrients into the plant, (Mg) magnesium - an important part of chlorophyll and (S) sulphur - a structural component of amino acids and vitamins.

Micronutrients

(B) boron - important in sugar transport, cell division and synthesizing certain enzymes, (Cu) copper - photosynthesis, many enzyme processes and the manufacture of cell walls. (Fe) iron - photosynthesis (Cl) chlorine – osmosis, ionic balance and photosynthesis, (Mn) manganese - building the chloroplasts, (Mo) molybdenum - building amino acids and (Zn) zinc - required by a large number of enzymes.

• Wood mulches, forestry by-products, have high Carbon to Nitrogen (C/N) ratios, typically > 25:1. High C/N ratios increase microbial activity and initiate decomposition, which increases the demand for nitrogen by microorganisms. When microbes access ammonium (NH4+) before ornamental plantings can, a process referred to as nitrogen immobilization, the nitrogen is no longer available to vegetables, perennials, ornamental shrubs and trees. Nitrogen immobilization affects plant development and can lead to the loss of foliage, and, or plants.

References

LCT Magazine, May 17, 2010: Magical Mulch in Warren, Max Wittstein http://www.countytimes.com/articles/2010/05/17/l_c_t_monthly/doc4bdb2dd2917ed385425318.txt

Cornell Agronomy Fact Sheet #2: Nitrogen basics – The Nitrogen Cycle http://nmsp.css.cornell.edu/publications/factsheets/factsheet2.pdf

Cornell Cooperative Extension: Nitrogen – The Essential Element http://psep.cce.cornell.edu/facts-slides-self/facts/nit-el-grw89.aspx

The Potential Impact of Licorice for the Remediation of Saline Soils http://www.scribd.com/doc/16690351/Policy-Brief-Licorice-ICARDA

Botannical.com – Glycyrrhiza glabra http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/l/liquor32.html

Wikipedia.com – Liquorice http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquorice

Fabaceae: Legumes http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/plsc_02/plsc_02_00131.html

The Philadelphia Horticultural Society – on mulching trees pg. 26 http://www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/phlgreen/PlantaTree.pdf

National Chrysanthemum Society Advanced Growers Handbook – Planting and Early Care http://www.mums.org/journal/articles/planting_early_care.htm

University of Delaware Controlling Weeds in Newly Planted Ground Covers with Herbicide - Mulch Combinations Using Activated Carbon as a Detoxifying Agent “studies indicated that weed control of all weed species was significantly improved when licorice root mulch was applied to a one-inch depth over all herbicide treatments” http://dspace.udel.edu:8080/dspace/handle/19716/2971

Horticultural Research Institute © 2004 Artillery Fungus Sporulation on 27 Different Mulches – A Field Study Last paragraph: licorice root mulch resistance to artillery fungus http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/d/d/ddd2/images/artfungus_fullpaper.pdf

NY Times: Garden Q & A Artillery Fungus: “Armed Fungus” – licorice root mulch resistance http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/18/garden/garden-q-a.html

Scientific American Worried about Antibiotics in Your Beef? Vegetables May Be No Better http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=vegetables-contain-antibiotics

External links

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