THE EFFECT OF RHIZOPHAGUS TENUIS MYCORRHIZAS ON RYEGRASS, COCKSFOOT AND SWEET VERNAL

Abstract

Growth of ryegrass (Lolium perenne) in a soil extremely deficient in available phosphorus, depended on conversion of most of the root system into endomycorrhizas by Rhizophagus tenuis. A further growth increment could be obtained in infected plants by adding other nutrients, whereas uninfected plants responded only to phosphorus. Cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) and sweet vernal (Anthoxanthum odoratum) also relieved extreme phosphorus deficiency by symbiosis with Rhizophagus tenuis; but in slightly more fertile soil all three grasses grew better without the fungus. Then R. tenuis grew mainly in the rhizosphere of inoculated plants with much less penetration. Copyright © 1973, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved