Phycomycetous mycorrhizal organisms collected by open-pot culture methods

Abstract

Phycomycetous mycorrhizal organisms, Endogone sp., were collected and maintained on strawberry roots in open-pot cultures by three methods: (1) transfer of a field-grown plant to a pot of steamed soil; (2) growing a strawberry runner for a time in potted, unsterilized field soil, followed by transplanting to steamed soil; and (3) inoculation of a strawberry runner in steamed soil with field-collected roots. After the mycorrhizae were well developed, extramatrical spores or vesicles were taken from the pots, disinfected, and used to establish permanent cultures on strawberry plants grown from runners in steamed soil. Eight morphologically different cultures were found among the 19 established. Six cultures are described.