Mycorrhizal formation of nine ectomycorrhizal fungi on poplar cuttings

Abstract

In order to discover which ectomycorrhizal-(ECM) fungi have better growth-promoting effects on poplars, cuttings from four poplar species were inoculated with nine species of ECM fungi by three methods. We investigated the status of mycorrhizal formation and the effects of these fungi on the growth of the poplars. The results show that Xrocomus chrysentero (Xc), Boletus edulis (Be), Pisolithus tinctorius (Pt) and Laccaria amethystea (La) formed clear ectomycorrhizal symbiosis with the poplar seedlings. Among these four ECM fungi, Xc had the greatest ability to develop mycorrhizae with all four poplar species. Be shows a greater ability to form mycorrhizae with Populus deltoides Bartr cv. ‘Lux’ (Poplar I-69). Pt and La had relatively weaker abilities of colonization. The other five ECM fungal species, i.e., Scleroderma luteus (Sl), Leccinum scabrum (Ls), Boletus speciosus (Bs), Calvatia craniiformis (Cc) and Rhizopogen luteous (Rl) could not easily form mycorrhizae with poplar seedlings grown in sterilized substrates, but could do so in non-sterilized soil. With the method of drilling and injecting liquid inoculum, a simple operation, the mycorrhizal infection rates were higher than with the other two methods, applying solid inoculum as fertilizer at the bottom of the pots and dipping roots in the inoculum slurry. P. simonii Carr. formed mycorrhizae with most of the nine ECM fungi. P. x euramericana (Dode) Guinier cv. ’san Martino’ (Poplar I-72) and P. deltoids Harvard x P. deltoids Lux (Poplar NL-351) had the highest compatibility with Pt. Poplar I-69 shows the highest compatibility with Xc. The study indicates that the optimal ECM fungi for poplars I-69, I-72 and NL-351 were Be, Xc and Pt, respectively. The optimal fungi for P. simonii Carr. were Xc and Be. These ECM fungi promoted the growth of the poplar seedlings significantly.