Management of nursery practices for efficient ectomycorrhizal fungi application...

• Author(s): Oliveira, Rui S. ; Franco, Albina R. ; Vosátka, Miroslav ; Castro, Paula M. L.
• Date: 2010
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/4848
• Origin: Veritati - Repositório Institucional da Universidade Católica Portuguesa
• Subject(s): Forest nursery inoculation; Improved plant growth; Holm oak; Nursery substrate and fertilisation; Selected ectomycorrhizal fungi
• Document Type: Article
• Language: English

Description

The application of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi on forest nursery production is regarded as part of good management practice. However, before employing large scale inoculations in a nursery the interaction between ECM symbionts, growth substrate and fertilisation input should be studied to select the most suitable nursery practices for promoting plant growth and ECM colonisation. In this study, seedlings of Quercus ilex were inoculated with Paxillus involutus, Hebeloma mesophaeum or Cenococcum geophilum and grown in three different substrates commonly used in forest nurseries: peat-based compost, forest soil or composted pine bark. The effect of various fertilisation regimes was also studied. The choice of substrate had a significant effect on plant growth and ECM colonisation. The most appropriate combination of substrate and ECM fungus for Q. ilex growth and nutrition was peat and H. mesophaeum. Plants grown on a peat-based compost and inoculated with H. mesophaeum had a significantly greater biomass and leaf phosphorus concentration without fertilisation. Composted pine bark was found not to be suitable for growth or for mycorrhization. If the appropriate growth substrate is selected, it is possible to replace the use of chemical fertilisers by inoculation with selected ECM fungi. This results in a significant increase in plant development, and thus ECM fungi can be recommended as a more environmental friendly biotechnological approach to plant management in the nursery.