Last week, one of our clients shared a “premium” mycorrhiza product he had purchased from outside. He was very impressed – the spores were large and clearly visible along with hyphal attachment.
But something felt off.
After checking in our lab, we found he was right about the spore size and visibility – just that it wasn’t mycorrhiza (VAM) at all. It turned out to be a contaminant: Rhizopus spp., a fast-growing fungus with sporangia that look very similar to VAM spores.
📌 What we saw under the microscope:
– Rhizopus sporangia: Black, 100–200 µm, with hyphal attachments
– True VAM spores: Golden yellow, avg. size ~80 µm
This was a classic example of how appearance can mislead – and why proper identification matters. At Plant X Crop, we don’t go just by what’s visible. Every product we handle is verified, inside and out.
