Abstract
The initiation of a programme of screening and selection of arbuscular-mycorrhizal fungi (AM fungi) and ectomycorrhizal fungi (ECM fungi) for use as inoculant fungi in agriculture, horticulture of forestry will depend on whether inoculation is more appropriate as a management option than manipulation of the indigenous mycorrhizal populations. The greatest immediate potential for the successful use of mycorrhizal inoculants will be in soils and growth media where phosphorus (P) limits plant growth and where the indigenous mycorrhizal fungi are either ineffective at increasing P uptake by the plant or their numbers have been drastically reduced by human influence or natural disturbance. In recent investigations, however, additional benefits to the plant following colonization of roots by effective AM or ECM fungi have been demonstrated. These additional benefits of an effective mycorrhizal association have necessitated a re-evaluation of the optimum screening procedures for isolates of AM and ECM fungi. Both current methodologies and suggestions for alternative approaches to the screening of AM and ECM fungi are discussed in this paper. The problems inherent in choosing suitable experimental conditions to compare different isolates at the screening stage are also addressed. The review also stresses the importance of continued monitoring of introduced mycorrhizal fungi to learn more about their longer-term ecological role, particularly within reforestation or revegetation studies.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AbbottL K and RobsonA D 1984 The effect of root density, inoculum placement and infectivity of inoculum on the Development of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizas. New Phytol. 97, 285–299.
AbbottL K, RobsonA D and GazeyC 1992 Selection of inoculant vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. In Methods in Microbiology—Vol. 24, Techniques for the study of mycorrhiza. Eds. J RNorris, D JRead and A KVarma. pp 1–21. Academic Press, London.
AllenM F 1991 The Ecology of Mycorrhizae. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 184 p.
BethlenfalvayG J, ThomasR S and DakessianS 1988 Mycorrhizae in stressed environments: Effects on plant growth, endophyte development, soil stability and soil water. In Arid Lands: Today and Tomorrow. Eds. E EWhitehead, C FHutchinson, B NTimmerman and R GVarady. pp 1015–1029, Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado.
BrundrettM 1991 Mycorrhizas in natural ecosystems. Adv. Ecol. Res. 21, 171–313.
DoddJ C, AriasI, KoomenI and HaymanD S 1990a The management of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal populations in acid-infertile soils of a savanna ecosystem. I—The effects of pre-cropping and VAM fungi inoculation on plant growth and nutrition in the field. Plant Soil 122, 229–240.
DoddJ C, AriasI, KoomenI and HaymanD S 1990b The management of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal populations in acid-infertile soils of a savanna ecosystem. II—The effects of inoculation and pre-crops on the native VAM fungi spore populations. Plant Soil. 122, 241–247.
DoddJ C, WilliamsS and JeffriesP 1991 Mycorrhiza and Vetiver—Rehabilitating Degraded Lands. Newsletter of the Vetiver Information Network of the World Bank 7, 3–4.
GarbayeJ, DelwaulleJ C and DianganaD 1988 Growth response of Eucalyptus in the Congo to ectomycorrhizal inoculation. For. Ecol. Manag. 24, 151–157.
GemmaJ N, KoskeR E and CarreiroM 1989 Scasonal dynamics of selected species of V-A mycorrhizal fungi in a sand dune. Mycol. Res. 92, 317–321.
Grove T S, Malajczuk N, Burgess T, Thomson B D and Hardy G 1991 Growth responses of plantation eucalypts to inoculation with selected ectomycorrhizal fungi. In Proc. IUFRO Symp. Intensive Forestry: The Role of Eucalypts. pp 86–93. Durban, South Africa.
HatchellG E and MarxD H 1987 Response of longleaf, sand and loblolly pines to Pisolithus ectomycorrhizal and fertilizer on a sandhills site in South Carolina. For. Sci. 38, 301–315.
JasperD A RobsonA D and AbbottL K 1988 Revegetation in an iron-ore mine—Nutrient requirements for plant growth and the potential role of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Aust. J. Soil Res. 26, 497–507.
JasperD A RobsonA D and AbbottL K 1991 The effect of soil disturbance on vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in soils from different vegetation types. New Phytol. 118, 471–476.
JeffriesP and DoddJ C 1991 The use of mycorrhizal inoculants in agriculture. In Handbook of Applied Mycology, Vol. I—Soil and Plants. Eds. D KArora, BRai, K GMukerji and G RKnudsen. pp 155–186. Marcel Dekker, Inc., Madison Ave., New York.
JohnsonN C, ZakD R, TilmanD and PflegerF L 1991 Dynamics of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae during old field succession. Oecologia 86, 349–358.
KesselS L 1927 Soil organisms. The dependence of certain pine species on a biological soil factor. Emp. For. J. 6, 70–74.
KrikunJ, HaasJ H, DoddJ C and KinsburskyR 1990 Mycorrhizal dependence of four crops in a P-sorbing soil. Plant Soil 122, 213–217.
KroppB R and LangloisC-G 1990 Ectomycorrhizae in reforestation. Can J. For. Res. 20, 438–451.
LeTaconF, GarbayeJ, BouchardD, ChevalierG, OlivierJ M, GuimberteauJ, PoitouN and FrochotN 1988 Field results from ectomycorrhizal inoculation in France. In Canadian Workshop on Mycorrhizae in Forestry. Eds. MLalonde and YPiché. pp 51–74, Universite Lavel, Ste-Foy.
Le Tacon F, Alvarez I F, Bouchard D, Henrion B, Jackson R M, Parlade J I, Pera J, Stenström E, Villeneuve N and Walker C 1991 Variations in field response of forest trees to nursery ectomycorrhizal inoculation in Europe. In Mycorrhizas in Ecosystems—Structure and Function, Abstracts 3rd ESM, Sheffield.
Malajczuk N, Grove T S, Tommerup I C Bougher N L, Thomson B D, Dell B and Kuek C 1993 Ectomycorrhizas. In Microorganisms that Promote Plant Productivity. Eds. P Dart and J Dawson (in press).
Marx D H and Cordell C E 1987 Ecology and management of ectomycorrhizal fungi in regenerating forests in the eastern United States. In Proceedings of the 7th NACOM. Eds. D M Sylvia, L L Hung and J H Graham. p. 69. Gainesville, Florida.
MasonP A, LastF T, WilsonJ, DeaconJ W, FlemingL V and FoxF M 1987 Fruiting and successions of ectomycorrhizal fungi. In Fungal Infection of Plants. Eds. G FPegg and P GAyres. pp 253–268. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
MolinaR and PalmerJ G 1982 Isolation, maintenance, and pure culture manipulation of ectomycorrhizal fungi. In Methods and Principles of Mycorrhizal Research. Ed. N CSchenck, pp 115–129. The American Phytopathological Society, Minnesota, USA.
MolinaR and TrappeJ M 1982 Patterns of ectomycorrhizal host specificity and potential among Pacific North West conifers and fungi. For. Sci. 28, 423–458.
ParkeJ L, LindermanR G and TrappeJ M 1984 Inoculum potential of ectomycorrhizal fungi in forest soils of southwest Oregon and northern California. For. Sci. 30, 300–304.
Sieverding E 1991 Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Management in Tropical Agrosystems. Deutsche Gesellsschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, Federal Republic of Germany. 371 p.
SmithS E and WalkerN A 1981 A quantitative study of mycorrhizal infection in Trifolium: separate determination of the rates of infection and mycelial growth. New Phytol. 89, 225–240.
SylviaD M 1990 Inoculation of native woody plants with vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for phosphate mine land reclamation. Agric. Ecos. Environ. 31, 253–261.
ThompsonJ P 1987 Decline of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae in long fallow disorder of field crops and its expression in phosphorus deficiency of sunflower. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 38, 847–867.
Thomson B D, Malajczuk N and Grove T S 1991 Increasing the infectivity and effectiveness of ectomycorrhizal isolates of Eucalyptus spp. be re-isolating them from root infection and fruiting bodies. In Mycorrhizas in Ecosystems-Structure and Function, Abstracts 3rd ESM, Sheffield.
TommerupI C 1992 Methods for the study of the population biology of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. In Methods in Microbiology—Vol. 24, Techniques for the study of mycorrhiza. Eds. J RNorris, D JRead and A KVarma. pp 1–21. Academic Press, London.
TrappeJ M 1977 Selection of fungi for ectomycorrhizal inoculation in nurseries. Ann. Revu. Phytopathol. 15, 203–222.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dodd, J.C., Thomson, B.D. The screening and selection of inoculant arbuscular-mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi. Plant Soil 159, 149–158 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00000104
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00000104