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Submitted to: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Adventitious Root Formation
Publication Type: Proceedings Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/2000 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Plants with roots colonized by mycorrhizal fungi are potentially more effective at nutrient and water acquisition, less susceptible to disease, and can be more productive under certain stressful environmental growing conditions than plants without mycorrhizae. Although a great deal of research has been performed on seedling responses to inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi and there is a growing body of information describing th benefits of inoculation of tissue culture plantlets, there has been little research on how inoculation influences adventitious root production during cutting propagation, especially in woody perennial crops. This paper reviews concepts associated with using mycorrhizal fungi to influence initiation and growth of adventitious roots and describes the results of several studies that assess the influence of mycorrhizal fungi on the adventitious rooting of cuttings from different woody horticultural crops. Technical Abstract: Plants with roots colonized by mycorrhizal fungi are potentially more effective at nutrient and water acquisition, less susceptible to disease, and can be more productive under certain stressful environmental growing conditions than plants without mycorrhizal fungi. Several types of mycorrhizal associations occur in woody horticultural crops including vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM), ectomycorrhizae, ericoid mycorrhizae, and arbutoid mycorrhizae. Optimal uses for commercially available inoculum of mycorrhizal fungi have not been well defined. One common question is when to apply inoculum of mycorrhizal fungi to obtain maximum benefits from the symbiosis. The benefits from root colonization by mycorrhizal fungi are thought to be highest when colonization occurs as early as possible during plant growth. In horticultural production systems, this means that inoculum should be present during radicle emergence in seed dgermination, prior to the weaning or acclimation phase of tissue culture propagation, or during adventitious root formation in cutting propagation. This paper presents the results of several studies that assess the influence of VA, ericoid, and arbutoid mycorrhizal fungal inoculum on adventitious rooting and changes in chemical constituents that occur during propagation of cuttings from different woody horticultural crops. Our results suggest that incorporation of mycorrhizal inoculum into rooting media during cutting propagation can increase the quantity of rooting and the quality of rooted cuttings for different cultivars of woody horticultural crops. |
