Evaluación de la germinación simbiótica de dos especies de orquídeas con el hongo micorrízico Ceratobasidium sp.

Abstract

In nature, orchid seeds cannot germinate on their own because they lack endosperm, therefore they require a symbiotic association with mycorrhizal fungi to germinate and develop. The present study evaluated the symbiotic germination of two orchid species: Odontioda sp. (hybrid) and Epidendrum sp. (wild), using the mycorrhizal fungi Ceratobasidium sp. It applied asymbiotic treatments (MS and OMA not inoculated with fungi) and a symbiotic treatment (OMA inoculated with fungus). After 50 days of the experiment, the present study analyzed seed germination percentage, germination index (GI), and embryo size. The symbiotic treatment showed the highest germination percentages and germination index for both species. Odontioda sp. proved to be a slow-developing hybrid orchid, even in symbiosis with the mycorrhizal fungi, as it only reached the first stage in the 50 days of the experiment. It concluded that the mycorrhizal fungus Ceratobasidium sp. promoted germination in both orchid species. Still, the mycorrhizal fungi showed more affinities with the wild species Epidendrum sp., which only reached the third germination stage.