Abstract
ISOLATION of members of the group Basidiomycetes, as compared with other soil fungi, directly from soil by either the soil dilution plate1 or the root burial technique2 has met with little success, though better results have been obtained by the soil plate technique3. Hitherto, studies on their distribution were mostly confined to the recording of fructifications (which may be of seasonal occurrence) in Nature4. However, in the course of investigations in this laboratory on survival of Macrophomina phaseoli by the root burial technique in Madras garden soil amended with ammonia at different concentrations (2, 5 and 10 per cent), it was observed that a Basidiomycete regularly colonized and produced fructifications on pieces of cotton root when plated on agar media (potato-dextrose and Horne and Mitters's media). The incubation period needed in the soil for this colonization was only two Weeks. The control pieces of root buried in untreated soil failed to yield the fungus. This Work was extended to cotton-growing soils, namely, Coimbatore, Udamalpet and Kovilpatti soils (Madras State). In all cases similar fructifications were observed only in the soils treated with ammonia. This Basidiomycete was also found to colonize and produce its fructifications on pieces of root soaked in 50 per cent ammonia solution for one hour and incubated for one week in the above-mentioned soils. The fungus has been identified as a species of Coprinus.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Waksman, S. A., “Principles of Soil Microbiology”, 37 (Williams and Wilkins Co., Baltimore, 1932).
Sadasivan, T. S., Ann. App. Biol., 26, 497 (1939). Subramanian, C. V., Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., B, 31, 67 (1950).
Warcup, J. H., Nature, 166, 117 (1950).
Parker-Rhodes, A. F., New Phytol., 50, 227 (1951).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
CHINNAYYA, E. Colonization of Plant Debris by Coprinus Species in Soils. Nature 170, 252 (1952). https://doi.org/10.1038/170252a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/170252a0
This article is cited by
-
Some aspects of soil fungal ecology
Proceedings / Indian Academy of Sciences (1955)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.