Results of inoculation of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and oak (Quercus sp.) stumps with Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.: Fr.) Kumm

Abstract

The article presents the results of inoculation of beech and oak stumps with a biological preparation of oyster fungus (Pleurotus ostreatus) mycelium. The inoculum was grown on a sawdust substrate at Warsaw University of Life Sciences Department of Mycology and Forest Phytopathology. The experiment was set up at the Forest Experimental Station in Rogów. Stumps were inoculated: i) immediately after tree felling or ii) at approximately 5 and 12 months after felling. A total of 60 beech stumps and 50 oak stumps were inoculated in the years 2002-2004. The infected stumps were then inspected for the presence of the mycelium and fruiting bodies of P. ostreatus. The presence of fruiting bodies of other wood-decaying fungi was also noted. The extent of rotting was determined macroscopically, with the causal agent being confirmed on the basis of isolation and identification of mycelium from fragments of colonized wood obtained from rooted-out stumps. Oyster fungus mycelium was found to colonise beech stumps much more effectively than oak stumps. Stumps inoculated immediately after, or five months after felling were more effectively colonized by the mycelium than those inoculated after one year.