16 - Friday, June 15, 1990 - North Shore News Fungus boosts plant production PLANT SCIENTISTS at the Agriculture Canada research sta- tion in Ste-Hyacinthe, Quebec have found that they can boost yields of some vegetable crops significantly by growing the seed- lings with selected, naturally- occurring soil fungi. Dr. Valentin Furlan, a research scientist at Ste-Hyacinthe, found that leek seedlings treated with a fungus produced yields up to 26 per cent higher than those of un- treated seedlings grown under the same conditions. Furlan began isolating new species of soil fungi seven years ago. Having isolated about a dozen species, he began testing them on several types of plants, such as leek, onion and tomato, to determine which fungus worked best on which type of plant, and in which type of soil. Two years ago, he gave treated leek seedlings to some local farmers to grow. “"We didn’t make much noise, because we weren’t sure what to expect,’’ says Furlan. ‘“‘But the results were encouraging. We had an increase in yield of 18 per cent in the leek crop, and last year, in a field with a very good mineral composition and soil texture, we had increases up to 26 per cent.’’ The treatment continued to have beneficial effects even after harvest. One farmer who planted leeks treated with the fungus Noticed not only an increase in production but also that the treated leeks kept better during storage than did untreated plants. For close to 100 years, scientists have been aware that almost all plants form ‘symbiotic’ associa- tions with fungi. The mycelium — the fine root system of the fungus — penetrates into the cells of the seedling’s roots. There, an ex- change of materials takes place, which benefits both the fungus and the seedling. The mycelium releases For about 40 years, agricultural scientists have been trying to take advantage of this natural relation- ship in an attempt to boost crop plants’ production. Furlan is the first to apply this research in field tials. In some of the test fields, the fungus had very little beneficial effect, probably because the min- eral levels and amount of organic materia! in the soil were not right for it. Once the scientists understand how these conditions influence the fungi, they will be able to improve the soil by adding fertilizers and organic matter so that the fungi can work to optimize yields. Collecting the fungi initially was painstaking work. Furlan and _ his colleagues put soil samples under a microscope to find the fungal spores, which are from one-tenth to one-quarter of a_ millimetre across. Then, with a small pipette and needles, they collected the tiny spores from the soil. Once the spores had been col- lected, it was easier to produce more of them. After sterilizing some soil to kill off competing soil fungi, Furlan added the fungal spores to the soil, and planted leek seeds. When the roots of the growing seedlings came into contact with the fungal spores, the fungus began to grow. In the fall, when the mature leeks were harvested, their root systems contained large quantities of the fungus. Those roots were chopped up, and became the source of fungus for another year’s crop. For now, the scientists are pro- viding local farmers with leek seedlings that have been treated, and also showing them how to produce their own fungus source from chopped roots. But they are also looking for a growth medium for the fungus so that the ‘mother’ leek plants can be elimi- ALL FIRST QUALITY, OPEN STOCK. 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