POST VITRO MYCORRHIZATION AND BACTERIZATION OF MICROPROPAGATED STRAWBERRY, POTATO AND AZALEA

Abstract

A greenhouse experiment showed that inoculations with certain combinations of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and rhizosphere bacteria enhanced mini-tuber production of micropropagated potato after transplanting from in vitro to a non-sterile peat-based substrate. In the second experiment inoculation using the AMF isolate Glomus fistulosum BEG23 and a mix of three rhizosphere bacteria was found to increase shoot dry weight of micropropagated strawberry transplanted to one of the three non-sterile soil used. The majority of combinations of AMF / bacteria inoculants promoted root mycorrhizal colonisation, growth of extraradical hyphae and NADH-diaphorase activity of mycelium associated with strawberry roots in all three non-sterile soils. In a third experiment it was found that the inoculation with ericoid mycorrhizal fungi requires thorough selection since a mixture of two mycorrhizal fungal strains tested did not show stimulatory effects on growth of micropropagated azaleas after transplantation to Lignocel cultivation substrate. The separate inoculation of substrate with the biocontrol agents T. harzianum showed a stimulatory effect on azalea growth, however, when inoculated together with ericoid mycorrhizal fungi no significant effects were found compared to the non-inoculated control. To acquire the beneficial effect of microbial biotization of plants, a careful selection of the most effective combinations of fungal and bacterial inoculants should be carried out for the particular type of growth substrate.