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‘Fine’ and ‘coarse’ mycorrhizal fungi on red clover plants in acid soils: Root colonization and plant responses

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Abstract

Three sterilized acid soils were inoculated with inocula of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Soils were limed and/or P fertilized to produce different fertility levels. Most inocula consisted of mixtures of ‘fine’ + ‘coarse’ type endophytes. Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) was seeded in pots and grown in a glasshouse for 4 months. Root colonization by VAM fungi, the relative infection byGlomus tenue compared to that by ‘coarse’ VAM fungi and the effect of inoculation on red clover growth and mineral nutrition (P, K, Ca and Mg) were studied. Spores were also checked and tentatively identified.

Results showed that root colonization by VAM fungi was higher than 50% in most cases, the lower values being found in the soil with the highest P content. Inocula containingG. mosseae + G. tenue infected plant roots only in limed (pH>5.7) soils. A study of the relative colonization by ‘fine’ and ‘coarse’ endophytes showed that the competitive ability againstG. tenue followed the orderG. fasiculatum > G. mosseae > G. epigaeum > G. macrocarpum, although soil properties and fertility were crucial factors.Glomus lacteum was tentatively identified in two of the three experimental soils. The inoculum in whichGlommus tenue was most infective was also the most efficient in improving plant growth and nutrient uptake. The effect of inoculation on P and Mg uptake followed a similar pattern.

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  1. Unidad Estructural de Fisologia Vegetal, Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiologicas de Galicia, Apartado 122, 15080, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    J. Arines, A. Vilariño & Maria Sainz

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  1. J. Arines
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  2. A. Vilariño
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  3. Maria Sainz
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Arines, J., Vilariño, A. & Sainz, M. ‘Fine’ and ‘coarse’ mycorrhizal fungi on red clover plants in acid soils: Root colonization and plant responses. Plant Soil 111, 135–145 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02182047

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02182047

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