‘Hybrid organ’: how a union of trees and fungi could revolutionise forest management

Workers apply Funga’s wild fungal extract to loblolly pine seedlings at a commercial tree nursery in the southern US. The company treated about one in 40 of all loblolly pines planted across the south-eastern pine belt in 2025. Photograph: Funga

At a commercial tree nursery near Evans, western Louisiana, 5m pine seedlings are packed on to 12 vast circular irrigation tables, each as wide as a football field. Last September, many of these young trees were sprayed with what looked like muddy water.

The substance was in fact a liquid extract teeming with hundreds of species of wild soil fungi. Brad Ouseman, the nursery manager, is confident he will see results from this fungal inoculation, which is intended to improve yields and reduce the need for artificial fertilisers.