Abstract
In order to develop the rapid cultivation of potted seedlings of Alnus fauriei, we tried a method using the suspension of root-nodulating Frankia. The root nodules were collected from naturally growing seedlings of A. fauriei in seven places in Toyama Prefecture. We applied the suspensions to new seedlings after germination. The nodulation rate and the seedling growth differed depending on the nodule sources used in inoculating A. fauriei. Using the root nodule suspensions derived from the seedlings with the best growth-performances, the nodulation rate was about 98% and the average size of the seedlings exceeded 50 cm at the beginning of October. This study demonstrated that A. fauriei seedlings grew to a size suitable for shipping within a period of six months, by the inoculation of Frankia spp. with high growth promoting effects as selected in this study, into germinated seedlings.
