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ABSTRACT
Interactions and growth responses in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] colonized by the vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi [Glomus fasciculatum (Thaxt. sensu Gerd.) Gerd. and Trappe] or [Glomus mosseae (Nicol. & Gerd.) Gerd. and Trappe] as grown in three northern California soil types were investigated in a 2 by 2 by 3 factorial experiment. Growth and development of both symbiotic partners were significantly influenced by all three factors (host plant, endophyte, soil). Growth responses to VAM-fungal colonization varied with soil type from –10 to 400%. Phosphorus concentrations increased significantly in all soybean and some sorghum plants relative to non-VAM controls as a result of VAM-fungal colonization. Shoot dry matter as percent of fresh weight increased significantly in only those VAM plants which had also experienced a significant growth enhancement. Root/shoot ratios of most VAM plants were lower than those of the controls. Changes in root/shoot ratios were inversely related to changes in dry weight. The results show that soil type, as well as the host-endophyte combination, is a significant factor in modifying the VAM growth effect independently of mineral nutrient availability.
1 Contribution from the Western Regional Research Center, USDA-ARS, Albany, CA 94710. Presented to Div. S-3, Soil Sci. Soc. Am. at Las Vegas, NV, November 1984.
2 Supervisory Plant Physiologist, Plant Physiologist (Emeritus); and Research Chemist, USDA-ARS.
Received for publication September 19, 1984. Accepted for publication April 22, 1985.
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