Inoculation of seeds and soil with basidiospores of mycorrhizal fungi

It was demonstrated that basidiospores of the fungus Rhizopoyon luteolus, mycorrhizal for Pinus radiata, could be used successfully as seed inoculum after freeze-drying and storage for 3 months at 22°C, provided the inoculum level was increased 100-fold. Spore inoculum applied to seed could be held dry for at least 2 days before planting provided inoculum was increased 10-fold. On sowing freshly inoculated seed to sterile soil, 3 × 10³ basidiospores/seed were adequate for infection but maximum mycorrhizal infection occurred with 3 × 10⁴ spores/seed.A dose-response curve was obtained for mycorrhizal infection when basidiospores were applied to soil. As few as 100 spores/290 cm³ pot were sufficient for mycorrhizal infection although infection increased with greater spore dose to a maximum of 10⁵ spores/pot. Plant growth response was related to intensity of infection. It is suggested that the percentage germination of basidiospores in the rhizosphere may be considerably greater than those reported in studies with synthetic medium. A rhizosphere effect on germination of basidiospores was demonstrated and a method developed to facilitate studies of spore germination in the rhizosphere.