Aromatic Plants and Their Associated Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Outcompete Tuber melanosporum in Compatibility Assays with Truffle-Oaks
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Publication date
2023-04-20ISSN
2079-7737
Abstract
The high value of black truffle recompenses the slow growth of the fungus when established in the field. Adding a secondary crop, such as medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs), could further enhance the sustainability of truffle production agro-forest systems. The dual cultures of ectomycorrhizal truffle-oak seedlings and MAPs (lavender, thyme, and sage) previously inoculated and non-inoculated with native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), were established to evaluate plant–fungi relationships. After 12 months in a shadehouse, plants’ growth, mycorrhizal colonization, and extraradical soil mycelium (both of Tuber melanosporum and AMF) were measured. Overall, truffle-oaks’ growth was negatively affected by the presence of MAPs, especially when inoculated with AMF. In turn, the presence of truffle-oaks barely affected the co-cultured MAPs, and only lavenders showed a significant growth reduction. All AMF-inoculated MAPs showed higher shoot and root biomass than non-inoculated ones. Compared to truffle-oaks growing alone, the presence of co-cultured MAPs, especially when they were AMF-inoculated, significantly decreased both the ectomycorrhizas and soil mycelium of T. melanosporum. These results reveal the strong competition between AMF and T. melanosporum and warn about the need for the protection of intercropping plants and their associated symbiotic fungi to avoid reciprocal counterproductive effects in mixed truffle-oak–AMF–MAP plantations.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
632 - Plant damage, injuries. Plant diseases. Pests, organisms injurious to plants. Plant protection
Pages
13
Publisher
MDPI
Is part of
Biology
Citation
Barou, Vasiliki, Ana Rincón, Cinta Calvet, Amelia Camprubí, and Javier Parladé. 2023. "Aromatic Plants And Their Associated Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Outcompete Tuber Melanosporum In Compatibility Assays With Truffle-Oaks". Biology 12 (4): 628. doi:10.3390/biology12040628.
Grant agreement number
MINECO-FEDER/Programa Estatal de I+D+I orientada a los retos de la sociedad/RTI2018-093907-B-C21/ES/Diseño e implementacion de sistemas multiproductivos sostenibles en truficultura y analisis de los servicios ecosistemicos asociados/TUBERSYSTEMS
Program
Protecció Vegetal Sostenible
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2555]
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/