Ectomycorrhization of Date Palm and Carob Plants
The effectiveness of plastic pots inoculation technique to infect Ceratonia siliqua and phoenix dactylifera L. seedling roots with ectomycorrhizal fungal Pisolithus tinctorius [(Pers) Coker & Couch] was established. Spores powders inoculum units were prepared from crushed carpophores of Pisolithus tinctorius. Six months after inoculation, ectomycorrhizas were established in date palm and carob seedlings roots. The ectomycorrhization of Ceratonia siliqua and Phoenix dactylifera using spores powders inoculum was performed for the first time in our experiment conditions. These ectomycorrhizas results can provide an enormous potential for the development of large scale inoculation procedures of these species seedlings in commercial nurseries. The ectomycorrhization of date palm can be exploited to fight against Fusarium wilt using Pisolithus tinctorius as biocontrol.
