OBSERVATIONS ON FUNGI ASSOCIATED WITH PLANT ROOTS

Abstract

Plant age and soil type influence the nature of the fungal flora associated with plant roots. Total numbers of fungi in the rhizosphere of wheat, as determined by the dilution technique, increased with plant age but the degree of fungal stimulation appeared to depend upon soil type. Penicillia and certain species of the Mucorales were relatively more abundant on the root surface and in the rhizosphere at the seedling stage than at later stages of growth. Species of Fusarium and/or Cylindrocarpon (depending upon soil type) and various sterile dark fungi were predominant on the roots of healthy red clover and wheat, but were relatively rare in rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil.