Effects of Mycorrhizal Fungus Species and Metalaxyl Application on Microbial Suppression of Mycorrhizal Symbiosis

Abstract

The ability of eight vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi to stimulate growth of the warm-season prairie grass Andropogon gerardii was compared in steamed prairie soil, steamed soil amended with non-sterile soil sievate, and in non-sterile soil. Five of the VAM fungi were highly effective in steamed soil, i.e., inoculated plants were 56-224 times larger than noninoculated plants. However, mycorrhizal growth response from these five species was suppressed by an average of 23-6% in the presence of soil microbes, i.e., either in steamed soil with sievate or in non-sterile soil (...)