Abstract:
A survey was carried out on the mycorrhizal
associations in some indigenous wet zone trees of Sri Lanka.
The study area was a lowland tropical rain forest located in
the wet zone of Sri Lanka.
Root material of the majority of the indigenous
forest tree species examined indicated the presence of
mycorrhizal associations. 8% of the wet zone forest tree species
associations had ectomycorrhizal and 86% of the forest community
had endomycorrhizal associations.
Ectomycorrhizae were restricted to the family
Dipterocarpaceae and several symbionts were isolated from these
mycorrhizal roots. Fifteen fungal species belonging to the family
Boletaceae were found in the vicinity of ectomycorrhizal trees.
Two of the root isolates gave successful results when used in
ectomycorrhiza synthesis experiments with aseptic Dipterocarpus
zeylanicus seedlings.
A soil survey was done to determine the associating
endomycorrhizal fungi present in the study area. Fifteen
endomycorrhizal fungal species belonging to four genera of the
family Endogonaceae were recovered. Eleven species identified
are reported for the first time in Sri Lanka.
2
A comparative study was conducted to investigate
the effect of ectomycorrhizal associations of varieties of Pinus
caribaea in the wet and dry zones of the country. The results
suggest that a contributory reason for the initial failure of
the introduction of Pinus caribaea into the dry zone may be
associated with the deficiency of mycorrhizal fungal inoculum
the absence of proper or symbiotic fungi in dry zone soils.
