Plants do not form mycorrhizae c. What is mushroom root

All types of fungi described in this article are mycorrhizal. In other words, they form mycorrhizae (or fungal roots) with certain tree species and live with them for years in a strong symbiosis.

Mushrooms receive organic matter from the tree: carbohydrates in the form of tree sap with sugars, amino acids, some vitamins, growth and other substances they need. The tree extracts nitrogenous products with the help of mycorrhiza, minerals, phosphorus and potassium, and water.

Mushrooms become attached to certain forest species and cannot live without them. But at the same time, they are very picky: they love well-warmed soil, rich in forest humus.

The development of mushrooms is influenced by many factors: air humidity and temperature, lighting conditions, soil moisture, and so on.

Without their favorite tree species, mycorrhizal fungi do not bear fruit at all. In turn, trees often become weaker and sicker without their mushroom brothers. Thus, larch and pine seedlings that do not have mycorrhiza simply die on nutrient-poor soil. And vice versa, in close collaboration with mushrooms they successfully develop in these same places.

The host tree stimulates the growth of mycelium (mycelium) only if it lacks minerals obtained from the soil. Therefore, porcini mushrooms are more likely to appear on poor sandy soil than on fertile soil. The question arises, how to make wild mushrooms grow in the garden?

There is only one way - to artificially inoculate mycelium with their green partners. Growing mycorrhizal fungi is possible only outdoors and under mycorrhizal trees.

The main thing is to preserve the inseparable pair of mushrooms and trees, without which the full development of a mushroom culture is impossible. This means that it is necessary to create favorable conditions close to those in which these fungi exist in wildlife. To do this, at a minimum, you need the presence of appropriate tree species in your garden - birch, aspen, pine, spruce, larch, and so on.

In addition to cultivating valuable and popular mycorrhizal mushrooms, mushroom growers have repeatedly tried to grow yellow chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius), white milk mushrooms (Russula delica) and true milk mushrooms (Lactarius resimus) in the garden under birch trees, and funnel mushrooms (Craterellus cornucopioides) under several deciduous trees; Polish sucker and chestnut mushrooms; Russula under a variety of tree species and black milk mushrooms under spruce and birch.

WHITE MUSHROOM

The most important trumpet mushroom of the Russian forest is porcini mushroom(Boletus edulis), otherwise called boletus or ladybird.

It grows from the beginning of June to the end of October in deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests, in parks and gardens, along paths and abandoned roads, on the edges, along the slopes of ditches, in old dugouts and trenches, sometimes in thickets of bushes, after a drought in moss along swamps and drained swamps, but not in the dampest places (under birch, pine, spruce and oak trees); alone and in groups, often, annually.

The cap of the porcini mushroom reaches a diameter of 10 and even 30 cm. In youth it is round, hemispherical, in maturity it is cushion-shaped, in old age it can straighten to prostrate-convex, prostrate and depressed.

The cap is smooth, sometimes wrinkled in dry weather, often matte, shiny, slightly slimy in rain. The edge of the cap is leathery, often acute-angled.

The color of the cap depends on the time of year, humidity and temperature, as well as on the tree species next to which the mycorrhiza mushroom grows and forms: gray-ocher, gray-brown, ocher-brown, brown, chestnut, chestnut-brown, brown-brown and dark brown, lighter towards the edges.

The coloring is often uneven, the cap may be covered with multi-colored or blurry white spots, and late autumn fade to whitish, marbled gray and greenish. Young mushrooms grown under fallen leaves or under a birch tree may be uncolored and have a completely white cap.

The tubular layer is finely porous, consisting of free, deeply notched or adherent tubes up to 4 cm long.

In youth it is white, in maturity it is yellow or yellow-greenish, in old age it is yellow-green or olive-yellow, turning brown.

The leg of the porcini mushroom grows in length up to 10 and even 20 cm, in thickness up to 5 and even 10 cm. In youth it is thick, tuberous, and in maturity it lengthens, becoming club-shaped or expanded towards the base.

It is solid, smooth, sometimes wrinkled, white, ocher, brownish or brownish, with a light mesh pattern, which is especially noticeable in the upper part of the leg.

The pulp is fleshy, dense, white, with a pleasant mushroom smell or almost odorless and with a nutty taste. The color does not change when broken.

BOROVIK

Boletus, or white pine mushroom (Boletus pinicola), grows on sandy soils, in green and white moss, in grass in pine forests and in forests mixed with pine from mid-May with a warm and humid spring to early November with a warm autumn. As the latest Carpathian experience shows, it can also grow under other tree species, such as spruce and beech.

The cap of the boletus reaches a diameter of 20 cm. It is very fleshy, hemispherical in youth, convex in maturity, sometimes with a tuberculate surface, and cushion-shaped in old age.

The skin is smooth or velvety, and looks slightly sticky in the rain. The edge is often lighter than the middle, sometimes pinkish.

The color of the cap is burgundy, olive-brown, chestnut-brown, chocolate and dark red-brown, sometimes with a bluish and even purple tint.

Young mushrooms grown under moss may be uncolored and have a whitish or pink cap with a beautiful marbled pattern.

The tubular layer is white in youth, darkens with age to a yellowish, and then yellowish-olive color.

The tubes are up to 4 cm long, but noticeably shorten where they grow to the stem.

The leg of the boletus grows up to 12 cm in length. It is thick, very dense, club-shaped, and has a strong thickening at the base; white, white-pinkish, yellow-pinkish, yellow-brownish or reddish-brown and covered with a noticeable reddish or yellow-brown reticulate pattern.

The pulp is dense, white, reddish under the skin of the cap and stem, does not change color when broken, has a pleasant taste and pungent smell of raw potatoes. NOTE

Porcini mushroom and boletus are considered one of the highest quality, tasty and nutritious mushrooms. They make excellent soups with a light, clear broth, fry, dry (very fragrant), freeze, salt and pickle. At proper drying the flesh remains light in color, unlike moss mushrooms and boletuses.

You can fry without pre-boiling, or just to be on the safe side, boil for about 10 minutes. In some countries Western Europe The porcini mushroom is used raw in salads, but I would protect my stomach from such shocks.

COMMON BORTOWER

One of the most common, most unpretentious, but highly respected trumpet mushrooms is the common boletus (Leccinum scabrum).

The people gave him many names: obabok, babka, spiker, birch, podgreb and gray mushroom.

Boletus grows in birch forests and forests mixed with birch, under single birch trees in the forest, in bushes and woodlands, including tundra, along roads and ditches, in gardens and on grassy city lawns from mid-May to the first ten days of November, singly and in groups, annually.

The cap of the boletus reaches a diameter of 10 and even 20 cm. In youth it is hemispherical, in maturity it becomes convex or cushion-shaped; usually it is smooth, dry, matte, and slightly sticky in the rain.

The cap is yellow-brown, brownish, gray-brown, brown-brown, chestnut-brown, dark brown and black-brown, sometimes almost white with a pinkish tint and gray, often spotted.

The skin of the cap is not removed during cooking.

The tubes are up to 3 cm long, with a notch at the stem or almost free. The tubular layer in youth is finely porous, whitish and grayish, darkening in maturity to dirty gray or gray-brown, often with whitish spots, convex, spongy, easily separated from the pulp.

The boletus stem grows up to 12 and even 20 cm long, and up to 4 cm thick. It is cylindrical, slightly thinner towards the cap and sometimes noticeably thickens towards the base, hard, solid, whitish with longitudinal whitish fibrous scales, which darken to dark with age. gray, brown, black-brown and even black.

The pulp is watery, dense and tender in youth, rather quickly becomes loose, flabby, and in the stem it turns into hard fibrous. It is white or grayish-white, at the base of the leg it can be yellowish or greenish, does not change color at the break; with a faint pleasant mushroom smell and taste.

Porcini mushrooms and boletus mushrooms compete with each other, so it is better to sow their spores under birch trees in different parts of the garden. Boletus mushrooms have an undeniable advantage over noble mushrooms and boletus - with proper care, its harvests will be more frequent and higher.

With regular watering, boletus mushrooms will appear under birch trees on their own.

When bearing fruit, boletus removes a lot of potassium from the soil. If the garden is not located in potassium-rich lowlands, then at the beginning of each season it is necessary to replenish potassium and other minerals.

To do this, water the soil around the tree with two buckets of solution (at the rate of 10 g of potassium chloride and 15 g of superphosphate per 1 bucket).

When preparing " seed material“from old caps, boletus spores mostly remain mixed with the pulp and do not precipitate well, so you need to use a suspension of their spores along with the pulp.

PLEASE NOTE

There are more than ten types of boletus, including the more famous ones, such as blackhead, swamp, smoky and pinkish.

Of these, the one most often found in gardens is the not very tasty swamp boletus (Leccinum holopus), which is best collected at a young age and preferably just the caps.

In the natural environment one can often encounter interactions between various kinds animals or birds, insects and plants. We will consider one of them, namely the interaction between plants and fungi today: fungal root or mycorrhiza, what is it?

Did you know? Mushrooms are interesting works of nature: they are eaten, extracts are made from them for medicines, produce cosmetics. Yves Rocher released a line of cosmetics for middle-aged women based on an extract from shiitake mushrooms. Active substances These fungi, penetrating into skin cells, nourish them and accelerate regeneration.

Mycorrhiza - what is it?

To understand what a mushroom root is, it is necessary to consider the structure of the mushroom. The fruiting body of the mushroom consists of a cap and a stalk, but the most interesting thing is the hyphae or thin threads that intertwine to form the mycelium (mycelium). This organ of the fungus serves both for nutrition and for reproduction (formation of spores), as well as for the formation of mycorrhiza.

What is mycorrhiza? This is simply a combination of fungal mycelium with the root system of plants. Fungal roots and plant roots intertwine, sometimes the fungus penetrates into root system plants, which is done for fruitful cooperation of both parties.

What is mycorrhiza by definition? This is a symbiotic habitation of fungi on the surface of the root system or in the tissues of the roots of higher plants.

To better understand the effect of mycorrhiza, let's consider its types. There are three main types of mycorrhizae: ectotrophic, endotrophic and ectoendotrophic. In its biological essence, the first type is external or superficial enveloping of the roots with mycelium, the second type is characterized by penetration into the root tissue, and the third type is a mixed interaction.

So, we have found out what mycorrhiza is in biology and now we know that such cooperation is typical for almost all plants: herbaceous plants, trees, shrubs. The absence of such a symbiosis is rather an exception to the general rule.

Properties of mycorrhiza for growing plants

Let's take a closer look at what mycorrhiza is and what its functions are beneficial for plants. Mushroom mycelium is capable of producing special proteins, which are some kind of catalysts in nature. In addition, mycelium digests and breaks down nutrients in the soil, from plant residues to organic and inorganic elements from humus. Plants are able to absorb only easily soluble elements of humus and here they have many competitors: this and weeds, and microbes living in the soil.

–This is a mutually beneficial symbiosis of plants and fungi. Plants receive nutrients and water, and fungi receive carbohydrates produced by plants. Without carbohydrates, mushrooms are not able to reproduce and grow fruiting bodies. Plants provide up to 40% of carbohydrates.

The role of mycorrhiza in plant life cannot be overestimated. Mycorrhiza supplies them with vitamins, minerals, enzymes and hormones. Thanks to mycelium, the plant root system increases the absorption area useful elements, such as phosphorus, potassium and other stimulating substances. Moreover, it not only serves as a nutrition supplier, but also doses it correctly.

Plants grow more actively, during the flowering period they form more inflorescences with fruitful flowers and, accordingly, fruiting increases. Plants become immune to stress and weather conditions: drought, heavy rainfall, sudden temperature changes. Fungi, forming mycorrhiza with plant roots, act as protectors against some diseases of the latter, such as, for example, fusarium or late blight.

Thanks to its ability to digest and break down organic and inorganic humus compounds, mycorrhiza cleanses the soil for plants from excess salts and acids.

Did you know? In nature, there are predatory mushrooms that feed on living organisms, worms. These mushrooms grow mycelium in the form of rings that act as traps. The adhesive-backed rings tighten like a noose when the victim is caught in them. The more the prey twitches, the tighter the trap tightens.

Mycorrhizal vaccinations

It is rare that mushrooms do not form mycorrhizae, because this symbiosis has existed since the beginning of the development of flora on earth. Unfortunately, on summer cottages mycorrhiza is often destroyed as a result of long-term use of chemicals; mycorrhiza also dies during construction. Therefore, to help their plants, gardeners vaccinate.

Mycorrhiza vaccine - This is a preparation in the form of a powder or liquid that contains particles of living mushroom mycelium. After a kind of inoculation of the soil, fungal bacteria begin to cooperate with the root system of plants, which forms natural mycorrhiza.

Mycorrhizal vaccines are also popular today for indoor flowers, There is large selection for vegetables, garden flowering and herbaceous plants, as well as coniferous plants such as hydrangeas, rhododendrons, heather and roses. When vaccinating, it should be remembered that the root system of very old trees is too deep and is not suitable for mycorrhiza.

Important! The mycorrhizal vaccine is carried out once in the life of the plant, and each plant interacts and forms mycorrhiza with certain fungi. There is no one mycorrhiza suitable for all plants.

Features of the use of mycorrhiza for plants

The mycorrhizal preparation is applied by watering or spraying crops and directly into the soil. When vaccinating into the soil, make several shallow holes right in the ground near the plant and pour the vaccine into it.

Many people are interested in the question “Which plants do not form mycorrhizae and with which fungi is this symbiosis also impossible?” Today, there are few plants known that do well without mycorrhiza: these are some species of the Cruciferous, Amaranth and Chenopodiaceae families. Mushrooms that do not form mycorrhiza - umbrellas, oyster mushrooms, champignons, dung beetles, honey mushrooms.

The mycorrhiza preparation should be used after harvesting, that is, in the fall. Over the winter, mushrooms form mycorrhiza with the roots of dormant plants, and in the spring the results will be noticeable. Unlike plants, mushrooms do not go into suspended animation in winter and continue active work. If you use the drug in the spring, its active effect will be noticeable the next year.

The use of mycorrhiza is relevant when transplanting crops to a new or permanent place after rooting of seedlings. The effect of the drug will reduce plant stress and accelerate its adaptation. After vaccination with mycorrhiza preparations, significant growth and more accelerated development of crops are observed.

Important!-this is not a fertilizer, and should be combined with chemicals It is not recommended as it can be destroyed by them. Fertilizing is carried out exclusively with organic fertilizers.

• Powdered preparations for indoor plants are introduced into the potting soil, then watered. The composition in the form of an emulsion is drawn into a syringe and injected directly into the root system into the soil.
• After grafting, the plant is not fertilized for two months. Fungicides are not used during this period.
• More effective for flowerpots are graftings containing particles of living mycelium rather than fungal spores. These include gel compositions with living mycelium, which form mycorrhizae immediately, while spores do not have the conditions to develop in a closed pot.

Advantages and disadvantages of using mycorrhiza in plant life

The main advantages of using fungal root:

Granular oiler - forms mycorrhiza with Scots pine and other pines

Mycorrhiza-formers (symbiotrophic macromycetes, mycorrhizal fungi, symbiotrophs) - fungi that form mycorrhiza on the roots of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. They are a specialized ecological group of fungi, recognized within modern mycology since the late 19th century. This group Fungi are specific in that their representatives enter into symbiosis with higher plants, do not have enzymes for the decomposition of cellulose and lignin, and exhibit energy dependence on the symbiont, which is the plant. The term mycorrhiza (“fungal root”) was introduced by the German mushroom researcher A. W. Frank in 1885.

Mycorrhiza

Mycorrhiza is the formation of a symbiosis of a fungus and a plant. It manifests itself in the fact that the mycelium (mycelium) located in the soil intertwines and envelops the roots and root hairs of plants. The roots of the plant are transformed, but this does not harm the owner. Mycorrhiza allows both the fungus and the plant to obtain missing nutrients from the soil. In modern mycology, a distinction is made between exotrophic and endotrophic mycorrhizae. With exotrophic mycorrhiza (ectomycorrhiza), the hyphae of the mycelium entwine the outside of plant roots, and with endotrophic mycorrhiza (endomycorrhiza), the hyphae penetrate into the intercellular space of the roots and inside the cells of the root parenchyma. Ectoendotrophic mycorrhiza (ectoendomycorrhiza) combines the features of both ectomycorrhiza and endomycorrhiza. The phenomenon was described in 1879-1881. Russian scientist F. M. Kamensky and he also gave the first attempt at it scientific explanation, the term was introduced by the German scientist A. W. Frank in 1885.

Differences between mycorrhiza-formers and saprotrophs

Both mycorrhiza-formers and saprotrophs use dead organic matter for their nutrition, and therefore, within the framework of mycology, there is a problem of distinguishing between these groups.

The mycorrhiza-former receives carbohydrates from the plant, which are used by the fungus as a source of energy, and the plant receives elements from the fungus mineral nutrition, which the mycelium converts into a form digestible by the plant. At the same time, mycorrhiza-formers are similar to saprotrophs in the absence of a plant with which symbiosis is formed or in the stage of free-living mycelium.

L. A. Garibova in the book “ Mysterious world mushrooms" highlights the following differences, which indicate a difference in the biochemistry of these environmental groups mushrooms:

• only mycorrhiza-formers form indole compounds (some saprotrophs also form them, but in significantly smaller quantities);
• mycorrhiza-formers produce growth substances such as auxins;
• mycorrhiza-formers have almost no antibiotic properties;
• mycorrhiza-formers do not participate in the destruction of cellulose and are not able to develop on it without carbon sources available to them;
• most mycorrhiza-formers do not have hydrolytic enzymes, in particular they do not synthesize laccase, which is necessary for the oxidation of lignin;
• mycorrhiza-formers have a more complete amino acid composition.

Symbiotrophs in the fungal kingdom

Boletus is a tubular mushroom that forms mycorrhiza with aspens and other tree species

Red fly agaric - forms mycorrhiza mainly with birch and spruce

Mycorrhiza-formers are ascomycetes, basidiomycetes and zygomycetes.

Thus, mycorrhiza-formers are all tubular (boletal mushrooms), many of which are edible and collected by humans for food consumption: porcini mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, moss mushrooms, oak mushrooms.

Mycorrhiza is formed by some gasteromycetes, mainly of the genus False puffball, as well as some species of marsupial fungi related to truffles (species from the order Truffleaceae ( tuberales)).

In modern mycological literature, there are references to the fact that some mushrooms, for example, thin mushroom and lacquer, can behave both as mycorrhiza-formers and as saprotrophs, depending on habitat conditions. They form mycorrhiza if conditions for trees are unfavorable (swamp, semi-desert, etc.)

The role of mycorrhiza-formers in the biocenosis

The functions of mycorrhiza-formers in the biocenosis, as indicated in the book by L. G. Garibova “The Mysterious World of Mushrooms,” come down to the following:

1. Mycorrhiza formers convert nitrogen-containing compounds in the topsoil into a form that can be absorbed by plants.
2. Mycorrhizal fungi contribute to the supply of phosphorus, calcium and potassium to plants.
3. Mycorrhiza-forming mycelium increases the area of ​​nutrition and water supply for plants. In the arid conditions of deserts and semi-deserts, woody plants receive soil nutrition thanks to mycorrhiza-formers.
4. Protection of plants from pathogenic microorganisms.

Literature

• Burova L. G. The mysterious world of mushrooms - M.: Nauka, 1991.

Currently, about 300 thousand species of plants grow on our land, of which 90% (according to other sources, even more) live in close collaboration with fungi, and these are not only trees and shrubs, but also herbs.

This relationship between plants and fungi in the scientific world is called mycorrhiza (i.e. fungal root; from the Greek. mykes- mushroom, rhiza– root). Currently, only a small part of plants (and this is individual species from the family of amaranthaceae, gonoceae, cruciferous) can do without mycorrhiza, while most of them interact with fungi to one degree or another.

Some plants cannot do without mushrooms at all. For example, in the absence of symbiont fungi, orchid seeds do not germinate. Throughout their lives, orchids receive nutrition from mycorrhiza, although they have a photosynthetic apparatus and can independently synthesize organic substances.

The first who paid attention to the need for mushrooms for plants were foresters. After all, a good forest is always rich in mushrooms. The connection between mushrooms and certain trees is indicated by their names - boletus, boletus, etc. In practice, foresters encountered this only during artificial afforestation. At the beginning of the twentieth century, attempts were made to plant forests on steppe lands, especially with regard to planting valuable species– oaks and coniferous trees. In the steppes, mycorrhiza did not form on the roots of tree seedlings, and the plants died. Some immediately, others after a few years, others eked out a miserable existence. Then scientists proposed adding forest soil from the areas where these plants grew when planting seedlings. In this case, the plants began to grow much better.

The same thing happened when planting trees on waste heaps, dumps during the development of ore deposits, and during the reclamation of contaminated areas. It has now been proven that the addition of forest soil (and with it fungal hyphae) has a beneficial effect on the survival rate of young trees and serves an important condition their successful cultivation in treeless areas. The possibility of stimulating mycorrhiza formation due to local fungi present in the soils, through the selection of a number of agrotechnical techniques (loosening, watering, etc.), was also revealed. A method of introducing pure cultures of mycorrhizal fungi together with seedlings and seeds has also been developed.

At first glance, it may seem that mushrooms live only in forests and soils rich in organic matter. However, this is not true; they are found in all types of soils, including deserts. There are only a few of them in soils where they are abused mineral fertilizers and herbicides, and is completely absent in soils deprived of fertility and treated with fungicides.

Fungal spores are so small that they are carried long distances by the wind. IN favorable conditions the spores germinate and give rise to a new generation of mushrooms. Moist soils rich in organic matter are especially favorable for the development of fungi.

Can all fungi form mycorrhizae, i.e. live with plants? Among huge variety mushrooms (and according to various estimates there are 120-250 thousand species), about 10 thousand species are phytopathogens, the rest are saprophytic fungi and mycorrhiza-formers.

Fungi - saprophytes live in the surface layer of soil, among large number of dead organic matter. They have special enzymes that allow them to decompose plant litter (mainly cellulose and lignin), and, accordingly, provide themselves with food. The role of saprophytic fungi can hardly be overestimated. They process a huge mass of organic residues - leaves, pine needles, branches, stumps. They are active soil formers because they process huge amounts of dead vegetation. Fungi clear the soil surface and prepare it for colonization by new generations of vegetation. The released minerals are again consumed by plants. Saprophytic mushrooms inhabit forest litter, peat bogs, humus, and soils rich in organic matter in abundance. Forest soils are completely permeated with the mycelium of these fungi. Thus, in 1 gram of soil, the length of the hyphae of these fungi reaches a kilometer or more.

Mycorrhizal fungi do not have such enzymes, which is why they cannot compete with fungi that decompose dead vegetation. Therefore, they have adapted to coexist with the roots of plants, where they receive the food they need.

What is mycorrhiza and what fungi form it? The fungus entwines the root with its threads (hyphae), forming a kind of cover up to 40 microns thick. From it, thin threads stretch in all directions, penetrating the soil for tens of meters around the tree. Some types of fungi remain on the surface of the root, others grow inside it. Still others represent a transitional form, intermediate between them.

Mycorrhiza, which entwines the root, is characteristic of woody plants and perennial herbs. It is formed mainly by cap mushrooms: boletus, boletus, porcini mushrooms, russula, fly agaric, toadstool, etc. That is, both edible and poisonous mushrooms for humans. All mushrooms are useful and necessary for plants, regardless of their taste. Therefore, you should never destroy mushrooms, including poisonous ones.

Cap mushrooms, such as oyster mushrooms, honey mushrooms, champignons, umbrellas, dung beetles, are saprophytes (i.e. they feed on wood, manure or other organic matter) and do not form mycorrhizae.

The mushrooms that we collect in the forest are the fruiting bodies of mycorrhizae. Mushrooms are somewhat reminiscent of an iceberg, the apical part of which is represented by fruiting bodies (mushrooms in the everyday sense), necessary for the formation and spread of spores. The underwater part of the iceberg is mycorrhiza, which entwines plant roots with its threads. It sometimes stretches for tens of meters. This can be judged at least by the size of the “witch’s rings”.

In other fungi, hyphae penetrate into the tissue and cells of the root, receiving food from there. This is not done without the participation of the plant, because in this case, the process of transferring nutrients is easier. In the presence of such fungi, plant roots undergo significant morphological changes; they branch intensively, forming special protrusions and outgrowths. This occurs under the influence of growth substances (auxins) secreted by fungi. This is the most common type of mycorrhiza in herbaceous plants and some woody plants (apple, maple, elm, alder, lingonberry, heather, orchids, etc.).

Some plants, such as orchids and heather, can develop normally only in the presence of mycorrhizal fungi. In others (oak, birch, conifers, hornbeam) mycotrophy almost always occurs. There are plants (acacia, linden, birch, some fruit trees, many shrubs), which can develop normally both with mushrooms and in their absence. This largely depends on the availability of nutrients in the soil; if there are a lot of them, then there is no need for mycorrhiza.

A strong connection is established between the plant and the fungi, and very often for certain groups Plants are also characterized by certain types of fungi. Most host plants do not have strict specialization towards fungi. They can form mycorrhizae with several types of fungi. For example, boletus, porcini mushroom, red mushroom, volushka, milk mushrooms, russula, red fly agaric and others develop on birch. On the aspen there is boletus, russula, and aspen milk mushrooms. On different types of spruce - oiler, porcini mushroom, saffron milk cap, yellow podgruzd, types of russula and cobwebs, different types of fly agarics. On the pine tree there are porcini mushrooms, Polish mushrooms, real butterflies, granular butterflies, moss mushrooms, russula, camelina, fly agaric. However, there are plants that are “served” by only one mushroom. For example, larch butterfly creates mycorrhiza only with larch.

At the same time, there are so-called universal mushrooms (among which, oddly enough, the red fly agaric), which are capable of creating mycorrhizae with many trees (both coniferous and deciduous), shrubs and herbs. The number of mushrooms that “serve” certain trees varies. So in pine there are 47 species, in birch - 26, in spruce - 21, in aspen - 8, and in linden - only 4.

Why is mycorrhiza useful? higher plants? The mycelium of the fungus replaces the plant's root hairs. Mycorrhiza is like a continuation of the root itself. When mycorrhiza appears in many plants, due to lack of need, root hairs do not form. The mycorrhizal sheath with numerous fungal hyphae extending from it significantly increases the surface area for absorption and supply of water and minerals to plants. For example, in 1 cm 3 of soil surrounding the root, the total length of mycorrhizal threads is 20-40 meters, and they sometimes extend away from the plant for tens of meters. The absorbing surface of branched fungal filaments in mycorrhiza is 1000 times greater than the surface of root hairs, due to which the extraction of nutrients and water from the soil sharply increases. Mycorrhizal plants exhibit more intense metabolism nutrients with soil. Phosphorus, nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium and other minerals accumulate in the mushroom sheath.

Fungal threads (hyphae) are much thinner than root hairs and are about 2-4 microns. Due to this, they can penetrate into the pores of soil minerals, where there are minute amounts of pore water. In the presence of fungi, plants tolerate drought much better, because fungi extract water from the smallest pores, from where plants cannot obtain it.

Fungal hyphae release various organic acids into the environment (malic, glycolic, oxalic) and are capable of destroying soil minerals, in particular limestone and marble. They can handle even such durable minerals as quartz and granite. By dissolving minerals, they extract from them mineral elements plant nutrition, including phosphorus, potassium, iron, manganese, cobalt, zinc, etc. Plants without fungi are unable to independently extract these elements from minerals. These minerals are found in mycorrhiza in combination with organic substances. Due to this, their solubility is reduced and they are not washed out of the soil. Thus, balanced plant nutrition, which is ensured by the development of mycorrhiza, stimulates their harmonious development, which affects productivity and the ability to withstand adverse environmental factors.

In addition, fungal hyphae provide plants with vitamins, growth hormones, some enzymes and other substances beneficial to plants. This is especially important for some plants (for example, corn, onions) that lack root hairs. Many species of mycorrhizal fungi secrete antibiotics and thereby protect plants from pathogenic microorganisms. They use antibiotics to protect their habitat, and with it the root of the plant. Many fungi form and release growth-stimulating substances into the environment, which activate the growth of roots and above-ground organs, accelerate the processes of metabolism, respiration, etc. By doing this, they stimulate the plant to release the nutrients it needs. Consequently, fungi, with the products of their vital activity, activate the activity of the root system of plants.

What do mushrooms get in return? It turns out that plants give fungi up to 20-30% (according to some data up to 50%) of the organic matter they synthesize, i.e. they feed the mushrooms with easily digestible substances. Root secretions contain sugars, amino acids, vitamins and other substances.

Research has shown that mycorrhiza-forming fungi are completely dependent on the plants with which they form mycorrhiza. Indeed, it has long been noted that the appearance of fungal fruiting bodies occurs only in the presence of plants - symbionts. This phenomenon has been noted for russula, cobweb mushrooms, and especially for tubular mushrooms - porcini mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, boletus mushrooms, saffron cap mushrooms, and fly agaric mushrooms. After all, after cutting down trees, the fruiting bodies of the accompanying fungi also disappear.

It has been established that there are complex relationships between fungi and plants. Fungi with their secretions stimulate the physiological activity of plants and the intensity of excretion of nutrients for fungi. On the other hand, the composition of the fungal community in the rhizosphere can be regulated by substances secreted by plant roots. Thus, plants can stimulate the growth of fungi that are antagonists of phytopathogens. Fungi that are dangerous to plants are suppressed not by the plants themselves, but by antagonistic fungi.

However, in the plant community, just as among people, conflicts are possible. If it invades a stable plant community new look(either on its own or if it was planted there), the mycorrhiza that predominates in this community can get rid of this plant. It will not supply him with nutrients. A plant of this undesirable species will gradually weaken and eventually die.

You and I planted some kind of tree and are surprised that it grows poorly, not realizing the “undercover” struggle. This has a certain environmental meaning. A new plant, having established itself in a new community, will sooner or later “bring along” its characteristic mycorrhiza, which will be an antagonist of the existing one. Isn't that what happens in human society? The new boss always brings his “team”, which most often comes into conflict with the existing team.

Further research led to even greater surprises, the role of mycorrhiza in plant community. It turns out that fungal hyphae, intertwining with each other, are able to form so-called “communication networks” and communicate from one plant to another. Plants, with the help of fungi, can exchange nutrients and various kinds stimulants. A kind of mutual aid was discovered, where stronger plants feed the weaker ones. This allows plants, being at some distance, to interact with each other. Plants with very small seeds especially need this. The microscopic seedling would not have been able to survive if the general nutritional network had not initially taken it into its care. The exchange of nutrients between plants has been proven by experiments with radioactive isotopes. Special experiments have shown that seedling plants grown by self-sowing near the mother plant develop better than those isolated or planted. Perhaps the seedlings are connected to the mother plant through a fungal “umbilical cord” through which mature plant fed a small sprout. However, this is only possible in natural biocenoses with established symbiotic relationships.

In such “communication networks” the connection is not only trophic, but also informational. It turns out that plants distant from each other, when exposed to a certain influence on one of them, react to this influence instantly and in the same way. Information is transmitted through the transfer of specific chemical compounds. This is somewhat reminiscent of the transmission of information through our nervous system.

These experiments showed that the plants in the community are not just plants growing nearby, but a single organism connected into a whole by an underground network of numerous thin threads of fungi. Plants are “interested” in a stable community, which allows them to resist the invasion of aliens.

After reading this, a natural desire immediately arises to improve the lives of your gardeners and garden crops through mycorrhiza. What needs to be done for this? There are many in various ways, the essence of which comes down to introducing into the root system cultivated plant small quantity“forest” land, where mycorrhizal fungi are presumably present. You can introduce a pure culture of mycorrhizal fungi into the root system, which are commercially available, which is quite expensive. However, in our opinion, the most in a simple way is next. Collect caps of well-ripened (old, possibly wormy) mushrooms, preferably different types, including inedible ones. They are placed in a bucket of water, stirred to wash away the spores on them, and garden and garden crops are watered with this water.

During the implementation of the project, state support funds allocated as a grant were used in accordance with the order of the President Russian Federation dated March 29, 2013 No. 115-rp") and on the basis of a competition held by the Knowledge Society of Russia.

A.P. Sadchikov,
Moscow Society of Natural Scientists
http://www.moip.msu.ru
[email protected]

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Tests

610-1. Which organisms have a body made up of mycelium?
A) algae
B) bacteria
B) mushrooms
D) protozoa

Answer

610-2. Vegetative propagation in fungi it is carried out with the help
A) dispute
B) gametes
B) mycelium
D) fruiting bodies

Answer

610-3. The fruiting body is characteristic of
A) Bacteria
B) Mushrooms
B) Protozoa
D) Algae

Answer

610-4. Mold penicillium consists of
A) various tissues and organs
B) anucleate cells on which sporangia are located
B) multicellular mycelium and racemose sporangia
D) multicellular mycelium and fruiting body

Answer

610-5. Which of the following representatives belongs to the kingdom of fungi?
A) sphagnum
B) streptococcus
B) penicillium
D) chlorella

Answer

610-6. What mushrooms do not form mycorrhizae with woody plants?
A) boletus
B) boletus
B) chanterelles
D) tinder fungi

Answer

610-7. Look at the drawing. What letter on it indicates the mycelium?

Answer

610-8. What function does the cap of the fruiting body perform in boletus?
A) serves to attract animals and humans
B) catches solar energy, providing photosynthesis
B) is the place where spores are formed
D) provides air supply

Answer

610-9. Which of the following fungi does not form mycorrhizae?
A) tinder fungi
B) boletus
B) boletus
D) white

Answer

610-10. What are hyphae?
A) threads that make up the body of the mushroom
B) fungal sporulation organs
B) organs of attachment of the fungus to the substrate
D) photosynthetic part of the lichen

Answer

610-11. Consider a microphotograph of a mukor mold. What is contained in the black balls of this mushroom?

A) nutrients
B) water with mineral salts
B) microscopic spores
D) microscopic seeds

Answer

610-12. Which mushroom is classified as tubular?
A) russula
B) boletus
B) autumn honey fungus
D) champignon

Answer

610-13. What function does the fruiting body of the boletus mushroom perform?
A) structural
B) trophic
B) excretory
D) generative

Answer

610-14. When picking mushrooms, it is important not to damage the mycelium, as it
A) serves as a place for spore formation
B) serves as food for animals living in the soil
B) absorbs nutrients dissolved in water from the soil
D) holds soil lumps together and protects it from erosion

Answer

610-15. Settling on tree stumps, honey mushrooms use them for
A) attracting pollinating insects
B) obtaining finished organic substances
B) obtaining energy from inorganic substances
D) protection from pathogenic bacteria

Answer

610-16. Why is it often found on a rotten stump? large number again?
A) a rotting stump releases heat, which activates the growth of honey mushrooms
B) a rotting stump emits heat, which activates the reproduction of mushrooms
C) honey mushrooms feed on organic matter from dead plants
D) the mycelium of honey mushrooms forms mycorrhiza with the roots of the stump

Answer

610-17. Why are porcini mushrooms often found in oak forests?
A) There is a lot of light in the oak forest.
B) Porcini mushrooms form mycorrhiza with oak roots.
C) Porcini mushrooms have no competitors in the oak forest.
D) In ​​the oak forest there are no animals that feed on porcini mushrooms.