DECOMPOSITION OF WHEAT STRAW BY MIXED CULTURES OF FUNGI ISOLATED FROM ARABLE SOILS

Pairs of fungi from Fusarium culmorum. Trichoderma viride, Chaetomium globosum and lignin-degrading basidiomycetes R38, W54, N45, N46 and a Typhula sp. were inoculated onto straw, either together or in succession. Each pair was assessed for its ability to decompose intact lengths of straw. In many of the mixed cultures the rate of straw decay was characteristic of the more effective decomposer in pure culture. In the other combinations however, there was evidence of an interaction between the two microorganisms, which affected the rate of straw decay. These rates were either greater or smaller, more frequently the former, than those in the pure culture controls of the more effective decomposer. © 1990.