The Presence and Importance of VAM Spores in the Soil of Ginseng Gardens

Symbiotic associations between land plants and fungi have been known for more than one hundred years. Vesiculararbuscular mycorrhizas (VAM) are the most common symbiosis in flowering plants and can be recognized in almost all plant families. These fungal associations play a very important role in the growth and survival of plant species. However, with respect to the importance and intensity of the VAM, there is great variation among host species. Our knowledge of the VAM fungus-plant association in Araliaceae is very limited. After the first reports of the occurence of VAM in lateral roots of Panax species, mycorrhizal structures are now described as special structures representing the so-called Paris type. In this type, the development of new spores and vesicles is extremely low. This and the type of colonization of the fungus in Panax roots indicates on, one hand, the high intensity of the VAM and, on the other hand, a remarkable dependency for VAM in members of the Panax species. Therefore, it can be easily understood that cultivated Panax plants exhibit a significant uptake of nutrients and this leads to an extremely depleted soil at harvest. Further, the soil is nearly free of the spores of VAM fungi as they germinate each year on the newly developing Panax roots.