Some molds and fungus produce antimicrobial compounds to eliminate the competition. Chemical warfare. Calling it biofungicide is a bit of a marketing gimmick. There are other examples in nature; like penicillin, capsicum, and juglone.
On-line discussions of grower anecdotes not supported by research or even by small controlled comparison by the anecdote sharers often create more fog than clarity. It can be a waste of time in horticulture because there are so many conflicting evaluations due to multiple variables that are not part of the evaluations.
Sometimes we stumble on something that makes a sudden difference, but more often it seems like the cause and causation issue gets clouded up and the ultimate affect is more confusion than clarity.
My summary of the current research is that normal soil with a healthy ecosystem in place will rarely benefit trees by any type of inoculation. Relatively sterile soils, including potting soil mixes, seriously disturbed soils where the top soil has been removed or buried, or prairie soils where mychos may be specific to non-tree species may benefit from inoculation.
The most affective inoculation will likely come from moving a bit of soil that already supports trees to the soil needing it.
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Here is what the makers of the product say if you missed it.
PRO-MIXĀ® BX BIOFUNGICIDEā¢ + MYCORRHIZAEā¢ contains Bacillus, a bacterium that reduces the incidence of certain root diseases, and mycorrhizae, a beneficial endomycorrhizal fungus that improves plant growth.
Further explanation of what Bacillus does-
My understanding is that good soil has both of theseā¦ as long as there are roots of grasses or something for myco to be present on.
However for folks that like to grow things in pots (or grow pot itself)ā¦ there is a need for something that has these things versus box store potting soil that is just refuse ground up with fertilizer added.
I put a couple of handfuls or more in everything i put in the groundā¦ even though my ground probably already has itā¦ i want to give my roots and plant the best start that they can get. i reckon cheap insurance for the $-$$$ things that i purchase.
Pro mix i think uses Rhizophagus irregularis as their myco.
All turfgrass contains myco in their rootsā¦ however i think its been proven that the addition of various other strains of mycos to turfgrass makes them grow and seem much healthierā¦
So i reckon if someone wanted the most healthy orchardā¦ inoculation of the walkways with various strains of myco which would thrive on turfgrass rootsā¦which would in turn benefit ones fruit trees via companionship?
Inoculated on the left. Not inoculated on the right.
Or as we can see some folks on here remove all the grass as it āstealsā their nutrients and āstealsā their water. That grower likely has to irrigate and fertilize in order to gain good results.
Final thought-
In my bramble rowsā¦ i have been brainwashed or something to think that i should apply woodchips in a row and it should look a certain wayā¦ as that is how you do it to have healthy thriving plants.
When i remove a certain cultivarā¦ the roots are always under the walkways and those roots are like anchors and much thicker and denser than anything under the woodchips. Often it is like pulling cable from the networks under the grass of my walkways. Upon final removal of the plant there is very little of the same root structure under the woodchipsā¦ So in my plantingsā¦ brambles want nutrients that are under the turfā¦ not what is under the woodchips.
Perhaps that is related to fungisā¦ as woodchips contain different fungis than grasses. Perhaps also diffent bacterias.
Perhaps fruit trees are like that tooā¦ wandering roots as far away from woodchips as they can getā¦ to find what they want and need under grasses.
Interesting anyways.
Having a healthy ecosystem is nice, but most home built in the U.S. in the last 20 years are tract homes in planned developements, with HOAs dictating what you may or may not plant.
They like to chop down all of the natural vegetation and replace it with non-native grasses. They usually grade the land to make constructon cheaper, and pay no mind to soil health. All they want is turf grass kept alive by chemicals.
Inoculants can be useful in these situations, where the natural microbiome has been devastated.
The real message here is to cannabis growers. Without straight out saying it.
Pro-mix: itās probably the most popular soil for cannabis growers on the market. If you go into any Hydro shop, theyāll have a few bags of competing brands, and then four pallets stacked to the ceiling of the big bales of pro mix. And even then itāll often be sold out.
The two things that decimate cannabis seedlings are fusarium and ripe flowers is botrytis. Both of these are out completed or knocked down by lacto bacillus complexes. So much so that many cannabis growers are foliar feeding and watering the soil with homemade milk ferments. As soon as this become common knowledge (10 years ago approx) amongst cannabis circles every brand of soil that is popular with cannabis growers immediately started adding myco boosters and lactobacillus boosters to their soil mixes.
Basically, the rules now (unspoken) are if you want to be considered a cannabis grower choice, you have to have mycorizal and lactobacillus spores in your mix or you are out of the cannabis growing circles. 
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CANNA Terra Professional Plus blows the doors off of anything Promix offers-for cannabis.
I donāt buy it either. I have been making my own living soil for about 5 years now.
Regardless, every hydro shop around still has four pallets of pro mix stacked to the ceiling. You can come back two days later and all the pallets are empty.
Blows my mind but almost all the growers I know still run fresh soil every run.
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It takes a lot more skill to keep artificial medium healthy through multiple indoor grows. Outdoors, excess nutrients and minerals are leeched from the medium. When you are growing such a high-value crop, even slight drops in yield can greatly outweigh the cost of using new medium.
I never reused medium from chemical grows, and only reused arganic medium once-as an ammendment to new. When it is no longer economically feasible, used medium went straight into the garden beds.
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I see your point, especially using aqueous salts in the soil.
But I think the trend towards living soil is basically, itās easier to amend nutrients than reamend the life. Once you got a real nice blend of microbes in an old soil mix. I like how build a soil does this and many of the organic fertilizer dusts push amendment packs now vs new soil.
I just have 3 tumblers and I am anal retentive about composting. I pluck out the pop corn kernels and Cheerios out of the dustpan when I sweep. Always be making soil. Thatās my motto I say every day. I use a lot of anaerobic ferments w char during the fermenting. Thatās how I get rid of blackberry and other noxious weeds. Seems like a waste to send it out to the city. Stinky weed soup is what I call it. Ha
Yes, the fungi should match the tree type. If purchased what fungi are you getting?
A quote from the internet:
āDetermining the exact number of mycorrhizal fungi species is challenging, but current research suggests there are thousands of mycorrhizal fungal species.ā
Best to take some soil from a healthy tree and add it to the new tree hole. Apple to appple, pear to pear, etc.
I use a scoop or 2 of Extreme Gardening Mykos whenever planting a new fruit tree or shrub. probably doesnāt hurt, but I donāt know if it does anything truly beneficial.
I wonder if there are builders here who would like to comment on this. Most of the properties I work on are built for the very rich but sometimes I get a middle class customer. What I see does not exactly duplicate your description.
Contractors on properties I manage orchards on often grade properties and remove and sell existing topsoil, but they usually replace it with a very rich few inches of top soil to support sod without necessarily needing chemicals. Often it is made from a combination of yard waste compost and sand. It may not support much else but as long as sprinkling systems stop that top from drying out too much the grass does just fine, often without much chemical intervention beyond some high N fertilization. However, NY does tend to be humid so a deep soil isnāt really needed for turf.
I suspect that compost would have an active population of mycorrhizal fungi as would most decent top soils around here. Iāve never seen a site with entirely sterile soil except when someone had truck after truck of subsoil dumped on his property to flatten his very steep land for his home. He told me it was top soil because it was taken from a big development project where they flattened the top of a big hill- it was blue clay you could make pottery out of. That was not an easy orchard installation.
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yeah that sucks! promix 10yrs ago was $12 a 4cu. ft. bail. with the legalization of pot growing its 4xs that much now. why i make my own soil every spring for my planting projects. adding compost with blood/ bone meal to feed them make for plenty of homegrown inoculant in there. i let it cook covered in 55 gal. drums for a month then its ready to use. mix in Apr. use in May. sometimes i add molasses and azomite as well. depends what i have on hand.
The rhizosphere is a living system made up of,not only bacteria,but also protazoans,fungi,earthworms,nematodes,insects,and more.
The healthier your rhizosphere is,typically the healthier the tree.
These bacteria are essential to mineral uptake and transportation of carbohydrates.
All soils have some degree of rhizosphere,but inoculaating the soil with beneficial bacteria help maximize their presence.
You also have to feed this system to keep it healthy.
Usually by adding compost and other organics along with chelated minerals that donāt need further breaking down to be used by the bacteria and tree.
There are.soil test you can do to determine the number and type of bacteria,nematodes,fungi,and more.
There are people that actually study the rhizosphere specifically and gather wild samples to inoculate trees and plants in controlled greenhouse enviroments and it has been found certain plants must have certain bacteria to thrive.
i generally sprinkle some blood/ bone meal or add some compost when i plant something. that feeds the biologicals that are already present and brings them to soil capacity. with a yearly mulch, that should keep everyone happy. newly established trees, bushes and cane fruit get additional occasional top dressings of manure. works great so far. Iāve never seen any signs of nutrient deficiencies or lackluster growth doing it this way . i donāt think the stuff in a jar does much of anything if youāre growing stuff naturally. maybe in sterile, soilless mediums where you fertilize with just synthetics , like pot growers do, it would be beneficial. Iāve gotten away from synthetic ferts. for all but a quick boost for annuals. if i could get enough finished compost, thatās all id use.