The word, mycorrhiza, comes from the Greek ‘mukès’ (fungus) and ‘rhiza’ (root). Mycorrhiza is symbiosis between fungi and plant roots: 92% of plant families interact with fungi in this way.
The word, mycorrhiza, comes from the Greek ‘mukès’ (fungus) and ‘rhiza’ (root). Mycorrhiza is symbiosis between fungi and plant roots: 92% of plant families interact with fungi in this way.
Win-win situation
Both the plant and the fungus gain advantages from mycorrhiza. The plants provide the fungi with sugars (produced through photosynthesis) while the fungi get nutrients and water from the soil and pass them on to the plants. Mycorrhiza fungi can also protect the plants from pathogens which can cause disease. The mycelium, the network of fungal threads or hyphae, can cover and enormous area and so increase the range of the partner plant.
Round the roots
Mycorrhiza fungi can be roughly divided into two groups, endomycorrhiza (from the Greek ‘endon’ meaning ‘inside’) and ectomycorrhiza (from the Greek ‘ektoc’ meaning ‘outside’). In the case of endomycorrhiza, the fungal threads invade the plant’s roots. In ectomycorrhiza, the hyphae form a mantle round the roots.
Natural growth medium
The growth and yield of agricultural plants depend to a large extent on mycorrhiza fungi. The plants do far less well without mycorrhiza. Research is continually being done on mycorrhiza fungi with a view to raising plant yields still further.