ECOTYPIC SPECIFICITY OF SPRUCE EMERGENCE-STIMULATING PSUEDOMONAS-PUTIDA

Hybrid spruce (Picea glauca x engelmannil) seed and seedlings were col lected from two sites in British Columbia, near Mackenzie and near Sal mon Arm. One strain of Pseudomonas putida was isolated from the rhizos phere of seedlings collected from each site. These strains were deduce d to be distinct from each other based on analysis of bacterial fatty acids. Experiments were conducted to determine if P. putida affected s pruce seedling emergence, and if the nature or magnitude of these effe cts were related to the geographic origin of bacteria and seed. Inocul ation of spruce with P. putida that did not originate from the same si te as the seed caused an increase in the number of seedlings that emer ged, but this effect was not statistically significant. However, when the origin of the spruce seed was matched to that of the P. putida str ain, a significant (P < 0.05) increase in the amount and rate of seedl ing emergence was detected. These results are discussed in relation to the regeneration strategy of spruce in natural forests.