Testing of microbial additives in the rooting of Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) stem cuttings

Abstract

 Laboratory-produced alginate-bead inoculum of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi Cortinarius sp. and Gomphidius glutinosus, fungal commercial products ECtovit<sup>® </sup>and Trichomil<sup>®</sup>, bacterial commercial product BactoFil B<sup>®</sup>, and commercial rooting stimulator Vetozen<sup>®</sup> were applied to a peat-perlite (1:2, v:v) rooting substrate of Norway spruce stem cuttings collected from 4-year-old nursery-grown seedlings immediately before the insertion of cuttings into the substrate. The application of beads free of fungi and the substrate without an additive were the other treatments. The cuttings were rooted in vessels (60 cuttings per vessel, 180 per treatment) placed in a glasshouse and arranged in a randomized complete block design. The cuttings were estimated for one growing season (approximately for 26 weeks) after their insertion into the rooting substrate. Rooting % of the cuttings ranged from 45 (mycelium-free beads) to 75 (control) according to treatments, 64 on average. No significant differences among treatments were found in % of ECM morphotypes, total ECM colonization of roots (%), and growth parameters of shoots and roots of the cuttings. The applied microbial additives were not sufficiently efficient to form treatment-related ectomycorrhizas that were formed by naturally occurring ECM fungi. Inoculation by the ECM fungus Cortinarius sp. and application of Trichomil had a partial stimulative effect on the shoot growth of cuttings. Shoot and root growth parameters were not significantly correlated with total ECM colonization, except for a negative dependence of the root number in Trichomil treatment. A higher concentration of K but lower concentrations of Ca and Mg in Ectovit treatment than in the other treatments were detected.   

Effects of substrate and ectomycorrhizal inoculation on the development of two-years-old container-grown Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) seedlings

“…Nevertheless, a positive effect of Ectovit inoculation on the needle P and K concentrations of Durpeta seedlings was observed. A similar positive influence of Ectovit on needle nutrient concentration of Norway spruce cuttings was described by Repáč et al (2011b). Other chemical characteristics may directly affect the availability of macro-and microelements, as well as the combined effect of physical and chemical properties of substrates (Rincón et al 2007).…”

“…According to Chirino et al (2011), addition of hydrogel to peat-based substrates increased water-holding capacity and positively affected shoot height of containerized Quercus suber seedlings. By contrast, no effect of Ectovit on rooting and biomass production of Norway spruce cuttings was found by Repáč et al (2011b). Moreover, the influence of field inoculation with Ectovit on outplanting performance of Norway spruce seedlings was reported as negligible (Holuša et al 2009, Pešková & Tuma 2010, Repáč et al 2011a.…”

“…Reported results are inconsistent; positive effects of application of ECM fungi were not found in all cases. In Slovakia, laboratory produced mycelial inocula of ECM fungi were applied and their effects estimated in small nursery experiments (Repáč 1996, 2007, Repáč et al 2011b. Commercial ECM inoculation on a larger scale has been recently carried out in the state-owned nurseries in Slovakia, but the performance of inoculation on seedling development has not been estimated.…”

Effects of cutting size and exogenous hormone treatment on rooting of shoot cuttings in Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.]

“…The physiological conditions of the stock plants (Mitchell et al 2004), time and place of cutting collection (Hannerz et al 1999;Jurásek and Martincová 2004), and environmental conditions (Ragonezi et al 2010;Repáč et al 2011) significantly affect the efficiency of Norway spruce cutting propagation. Initial cutting size is a very important factor involved in rooting ability and growth performance (Burgess et al 1990;Foster et al 2000;Vigl and Rewald 2014).…”

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) Root Rot/Wilt in Minia Governorate, Egypt

“…These data are in agree with that obtained by several authors [3,[12][13][14][15][16], who reported that R. solani and M. phaseolina caused damping-off, root rot and charcoal rot on thyme seedlings. The physiological conditions of the stock plants [39], time and place of cutting collection [40] and environmental conditions [41,42] significantly affect the efficiency of transplanting propagation of many woody and ornamental plants. Koné et al [43] reported that the planting date is an important factor which should be taken into account when developing an integrated strategy to fight infectious diseases.…”