Fertilizer levels and fungal strain influence the development of ectomycorrhizae on Sitka spruce seedlings

✍ Scribed by C. G. Shaw; R. M. Jackson; G. W. Thomas

• Publisher: Springer Netherlands
• Year: 1987
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 507 KB
• Volume: 1
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0169-4286
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00118759

✦ Synopsis

Application. The nutrient regime recommended by the British Forestry Commission for rearing conifer seedlings in containers with solid, controlled-release fertilizers was not conducive to the formation of ectomycorrhizae on containerized Sitka spruce seedlings, either through inoculation with known symbionts or by naturally occurring ectomycorrhizal fungi. These results and those from a previous study indicate that containerized Sitka spruce seedlings of an acceptable size for outplanting and with a high proportion of their short roots colonized by the desired ectomycorrhizai symbiont can be obtained within a single growing season by using a weekly application of approximately 6.1 g per m 2 of bench space of a soluble 19-19-19 (N-P-K) liquid fertilizer.