accesses since 14 Feb 1997
Ectomycorrhizal Technology for Increasing the Productivity of Forest Plantations
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Updated on Friday 23 February 2001
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accesses since 14 Feb 1997
Introduction
Increased growth in plantation trees. Many plants have beneficial symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi. There
is now a wealth of information on the ecology and biology of mycorrhizal associations with
plants (see Harley and Smith, 1983; Nemec, 1987; Kropp and Langlois, 1990). Of particular
interest to plantation forestry is the potential for increased biomass productivity by
exploiting the growth
stimulating effects of mycorrhiza. It is now known that; (a) to maximize benefits of
the fungi, plants should be inoculated with particular fungi at the time of seedling
production, and (b) there are few technical barriers to the exercise of inoculation as a
management option in current practices for seedlings.
Rationale for R & D.
(a) There is a quantifiable commercial benefit to the plantation
industry from increments in growth rates of plantation trees, (b) mycorrhizal fungi have
the potential to increase the growth rate of those plants with whose roots they share a
symbiosis (c) these benefits serve as the basis for for the demand for inocula of
mycorrhizal fungi, (d) research on mycorrhizal fungi has largely concentrated on ecology
and biology but not on mass culture and formulation to develop inocula as a commodity for
plantations, (e) development of process technology for inocula of mycorrhizal fungi is
important in the adoption of mycorrhizal technology; is a necessary strategic target in
the commercial exploitation of the potential demand in fungal inocula, and the lack of
supply of commercial inoculum has been recognized by some as a limitation to utilization
of mycorrhizal technology (Chang, 1994), (f) most currently proposed forms of inocula do
not meet strict criteria
for high-quality inoculum (Tommerup et al., 1987), (g) the form of inoculum
described later herein is superior.
Background
Project origins. Biosynthetica Pty. Ltd. began R&D on inoculants for increased plantation
productivity in 1987 when as Interbac Australasia Pty. Ltd. it began start-up funding of a
3-year research program at the University of Western Australia to develop an inoculum form
later named Mycobead. Interbac remained, and Biosynthetica continues to remain
start-up company whose main role is to continue funding the development of the program.
Biosynthetica and its predecessor have exclusively provided the project funding and have
not previously applied for any grants or subsidies. Biosynthetica became a wholly owned
subsidiary of Biron Corp. Ltd., a listed public company. Biron acquired the rights to
intellectual property for a novel process for artificially producing emeralds and after
several years of R&D achieved commercial production and sales.
Interbac secured the services of Dr.
Clem Kuek at start-up in 1987 because the program relied upon, and continues to rely
on his expertise from his PhD studies (see Kuek and Armitage, 1985) on immobilization of
fungal mycelia in hydrogel beads, the main feature of the inoculum program. In 1991, Dr.
Kuek took up his current appointment as Senior Lecturer in Industrial Microbiology in the
Faculty of Business and Technology at the University of Western Sydney, Macarthur. Dr.
Kuek continued R&D for Biosynthetica at the University of Western Sydney, Macarthur.
Tripartite collaboration in the development of Mycobead. R&D in Mycobead was centered on the technology required to mass culture mycorrhizal fungi of commercial importance in a form which will be compatible with forestry practices. However, the supply of fungal strains and ecological studies of the performance of the fungi in increasing the rate of tree growth was undertaken by a collaborating research organization. Similarly, a plantation company collaborated in the conduct of field trials to prove the inoculum form and the fungi. Thus, a tripartite arrangement was always in place. In further development of Mycobead, suitable collaborating organizations will need to be re-enagaged.
Project history
1987 Project commencement at Soil Science
and Plant Nutrition, School of Agriculture, the University of Western Australia.
Three-year collaboration with the CSIRO Division of Forestry
begins. The latter supplied fungal cultures of promise. Fermentation studies begin for the
free-culture of mycorrhizal fungi.
1988 Studies on immobilized mycorrhizal fungi
commence. New collaborations with Alcoa of Australia, the W.A. Department of Conservation
and Land Management, and Bunnings Treefarms Pty. Ltd. All organizations were supplied
trial inoculum. Nursery
trials conducted at Alcoa of Australia' nursery. Cost-benefit analysis of
the use of inocula in W.A. undertaken for subsequent use as the basis for negotiations on
a pricing structure.
1989 Small-scale machine
for the axenic production of immobilized fungi proved. Model system at laboratory scale for the
production of immobilized mycelia of ectomycorrhizal fungi (Mycobead) developed.
Trials of the use of Mycobead
in the commercial seedling nursery of Bunnings Treefarms begun.
1990 Long-term
preservation techniques for fungal cultures developed in collaboration with Alcoa of
Australia Ltd. and Pivet laboratories Ltd. Trials at Bunnings Treefarms
nursery continued. Over 80,000 seedlings were inoculated with nearly 100% success rate (Hardy et
al., 1991). Bunnings place orders for 100,000 inoculum doses for 1991/92 planting
season to test the production and marketing of mycorrhizal eucalypts. Negotiations begin
with Bunnings Treefarms for commercial collaboration for the production and marketing of Mycobead.
Funding from Interbac halted due to problems from company re- structuring. Program halted.
1991 Program moved to the University of Western Sydney, Macarthur where it was
funded to 1994 at the minimal level as a means of conserving the technology rather than
further developing it. Bunnings Treefarms cease mycorrhizal R&D because government
regulations regarding the development of eucalypt plantations cannot exploit the benefits
of their fungi.
1994 Status: Thus, developed to model stage is production technology for a unique
inoculum form and theoretically superior to other forms of
inoculum.
1995 Department of Industry, Science & Technology approval
given for the technical bases for a $3,000,000 R&D Syndicate. However, changes in
taxation law in December of that year meant that plans for the syndicate had to be
shelved.
1996 Status: The project is awaiting revival either
through outright purchase or licensing arrangement. Final negotiations are being conducted
for the technology to be used in an R & D Syndicate project commencing November, 1996.
1997 Status: The project is project has now been incorporated into the Xylonova R&D Syndicate for a sub-contract period of 2 years with $150,000 funding. The objective of the Xylonova Syndicate is to develop elite eucalypts for saline environments.
References
Chang, D C N (1994) What is the potential for management of
vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae in horticulture? In Management of Mycorrhizas in
Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry. Eds. A D Robson, L K Abbott and N Malajczuk. pp.:
187-190. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
Hardy G E St J; Thomson, B D; Malajczuk, N and Grove, T S (1991) Commercial
inoculation of eucalypts with ectomycorrhizal fungi. In Mycorrhizas in Ecosystems -
Structure and Function, Abstracts 3rd European Conf. on Mycorrhizae, Sheffield.
Harley J L and Smith S E (1983) Mycorrhizal symbiosis. Academic Press, London.
Nemec, S (1987) VA mycorrhizae in horticultural systems. In Ecophysiology of
VA Mycorrhizal Plants. Ed. S R Safir. pp.: 193-221. CRC Press Inc., Boca Raton, Florida.
Kropp, B R and Langlois, C-G (1990) Ectomycorrhizae in reforestation. Can. J. For.
Res. 20: 438-451.
Kuek, C and Armitage, T A (1985) Scanning electron microscopic examination of
calcium alginate beads immobilizing growing mycelia of Aspergillus phoenicus. Enz.
Microb. Technol. 7: 121-125.
Kuek, C; Tommerup, I C and Malajczuk, N (1992) Hydrogel bead inocula for the
production of ectomycorrhizal euclaypts for plantations. Mycological Res. 96: 273-277.
Tommmerup I C; Kuek C and Malajczuk, N (1987) Ectomycorrhizal inoculum production
and utilization in Australia. In Mycorrhizae in the Next Decade: Practical
Applications and Research Priorities, Proc. 7th Nth. Am. Conf. on Mycorrhizae. Eds. D M
Sylvia, L L Hung and J H Graham. pp.: 293-295. Inst. of Food and Agric. Sci., University
of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
For further information, contact the author of this
page
Dr. Clem kuek,
c.kuek@uws.edu.au
Faculty of Business & Technology,
The University of Western Sydney, Macarthur,
P.O. Box 555, Campbelltown,
NSW 2560, Australia.
Phone +61 46 20323
Fax +61 46 203025
By the same author
Bachelor of Technology Management
(Biotechnology) home page.
Dr. Clem Kuek's homepage
Acknowledgment with thanks
To my mentors and supporters of the project
Dr. Inez Tommerup, Dr. Nick Malajczuk, Mr. David Deane-Spread, Mr. Simon Lill, and Mr.
Julien Sanderson.
To past staff
Peta Oats, Jenny Atthowe, and Timothy Fallows in Perth, W.A.;
and Ayssa Hannaford, Angela Mordocco, Huda Shehadeh, Barry Paskins and Lawrence Kurdi in
Sydney, N.S.W.
