Transfer of nutrients and growth of Pinus Greggii Engelm. Inoculated with edible fungi Ectomycorrhizal on two substrates

An ectomycorrhiza is a mutualistic symbiosis of paramount importance in forestry and tree production. One of the selection criteria of ectomycorrhizal fungi that has currently gained importance is their edibility due to the economic, ecological and cultural relevance of edible ectomycorrhizal mushrooms as a non-timber forest product. The effect of the inoculation with three edible ectomycorrhizal mushrooms: Laccaria laccata, Laccaria bicolor y Hebeloma leucosarx, which are widely sold in Mexico, on the growth and nutrient contents of Pinus greggii grown in an experimental substrate and a commercial substrate enriched with a slow-release fertilizer, was evaluated. Two years after sowing, differences in terms of shoot and root biomass and macro and micronutrient contents between inoculated and non-inoculated plants, were recorded independently of the fungal species and the substrate. Despite the fact that plants grown in the commercial substrate had higher growth and nutrient contents, their ectomycorrhizal colonization percentages were smaller than those of the plants grown in the experimental substrate. The differences in the nutrient transfer to the inoculated plant shoots among the evaluated fungal species were recorded. Ca mobilization by L. laccata, Na by L. bicolor and Mn by H. leucosarx were observed in the plants growing in the experimental substrate. It has been demonstrated that the selection of substrates constitutes an important factor in the production of ectomycorrhizal plants and that the three evaluated species of edible ectomycorrhizal mushrooms have an enormous potential in the controlled mycorrhization of P. greggii. (C) 2017 Asociacion Argentina de Microbiologia. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U.