Effect of root infection withPseudomonas fluorescensandGlomus mosseaeon severity of lime‐induced chlorosis inVitis vinifera L. cv. ‘pinot blanc’

Abstract

Abstract In order to achieve different degrees of tolerance to lime‐induced chlorosis, Vitis vinifera L. cv. ‘Pinot blanc’ was grafted on two hybrid rootstocks: Vitis Berlandieri Planch, x Vitis rupestris Scheele ‘140 Ru’ (tolerant) and Vitis riparia Michx. x Vitis rupestris Scheele ‘101–14’ (susceptible). The vines were grown in pots with an unsterile calcareous soil, and roots infected with a suspension of the siderophore producing bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens and the VAM fungus Glomus mosseae (Nicol. and Gerd.) Gerd. and Trappe. Leaves were collected at two different times during the growing season and analyzed for ferrous iron, chlorophyll, ash alkalinity, and chlorosis rating. The most significant finding was that the two root treatments reduced the chlorosis symptoms of the vines grafted on the susceptible rootstock ('101–14'), at the second sampling, when the control plants were very chlorotic.