Vesicular – arbuscular mycorrhizae in disturbed and revegetated sites from La Gran Sabana, Venezuela

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gisela Cuenca ◽  
Milagros Lovera

Savannas growing on stony, old and nutrient-poor soils of southern Venezuela were severely disturbed by removal of the soil organic layers with bulldozers for road building. Introduced species Brachiaria decumbens, Brachiaria humidicola, Pueraria phaseoloides, and Calopogonium sp. were sown. The substrate was fertilized and limed. Plant cover, vesicular – arbuscular mycorrhizae colonization, spore number, and most probable number of propagulels in undisturbed savanna, disturbed nonrevegetated savanna, and six revegetated savannas were assessed. The perturbation reduced the mycorrhizal propagule number in comparison with the undisturbed savanna. In the nonrevegetated areas the mean percent ground cover 2 years after disturbance was low (0.04%). In revegetated areas an increase in mycorrhizal propagule number occurred and the mycorrhizal colonization of the sown species was high. In restored areas there was an increase in species of nonmycotrophic Amaranthaceae. The results support other predictions on the mycorrhizae in successional biomes, because in the extremely nutrient-poor soils studied the colonizing species were mainly mycotrophic. The reclamation program applied in disturbed areas was useful because it has allowed the recovery of vesicular – arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculum and there was an increase in the recolonization of native plants. Key words: disturbance, endomycorrhizae, revegetation, savanna, vesicular – arbuscular mycorrhizae.

1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (8) ◽  
pp. 1739-1744 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. Graham ◽  
D. Fardelmann

The vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, Glomus intraradices, was found sporulating in citrus roots in an orchard soil. Dead root fragments of citrus accounted for a high proportion of the propagules in soil as measured by the most probable number technique. Sudan grass root fragments from pot cultures containing 7 and 94 chlamydospores of G. intraradices per milligram dry root had 11 and 184 (most probable number) propagules per milligram dry root, respectively. Inoculum densities of 20–40 mg of root fragments per 100 cm3 of potting media resulted in 100% inoculation success of Carrizo citrange grown from seed. A decrease in root fragment density to as low as 2.5 mg per 100 cm3 of medium reduced inoculation success and root colonization, but did not reduce growth and nutrient uptake by inoculated seedlings. The growth of vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal plants in a soilless medium amended with relatively insoluble rock phosphate was less than that of nonmycorrhizal plants fertilized with soluble phosphorus; copper uptake, however, was significantly increased by vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizae. Root fragments stored up to 1 year under moist conditions did not lose colonization potential, whereas drying reduced colonization potential to near zero after 9 months.


1993 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 567-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narayan C. Talukdar ◽  
James J. Germida

Soil and root samples collected from fields cropped to spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Katepwa) and lentil (Lens esculenta L. cv. Eston) at 11 sites across four soil zones of Saskatchewan were analyzed for spore numbers, level of vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) colonization, and VAM species. The number of VAM spores detected in field soils ranged from 78 to 272 per 100 g soil. Vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizae colonized wheat and lentil at all the field study sites, but levels of colonization in the two crops varied from site to site and the differences were more pronounced in wheat than in lentil. Generally, lentil both exhibited a higher percentage of VAM colonized roots and contained more arbuscules and vesicles than wheat roots. However, wheat appeared to be colonized by different types of VAM depending on the field sites. Differences in VAM colonization were not related to the moisture and temperature gradient of the four soil zones or soil properties. Seven VAM species were isolated by enriching indigenous VAM mixtures (collected from wheat field soils of six field sites) on maize. The VAM isolated most closely resembled Acaulospora denticulata, Gigaspora decipiens, Glomus clarum, Glomus etunicatum, Glomus fasciculatum, Glomus mosseae, and Glomus versiforme. The species composition of the VAM community varied at the different field sites.Key words: VAM, Acaulospora, Gigaspora, Glomus.


1985 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1061-1064 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul P. Kormanik

Sweetgum seedlings with vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizae formed by Glomusetunicatum or Glomusdeserticola in nursery soil with 30 ppm available phosphorus (P) and nonmycorrhizal seedlings grown in nursery soil with 800 ppm available P were outplanted and whole trees were excavated periodically over the next 5 years in the plantation to follow mycorrhizal development. Four months after outplanting, roots of all initially nonmycorrhizal seedlings had formed vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizae and the degree of root colonization was comparable to that of initially vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal seedlings. New feeder roots did not develop on seedlings of any treatment until almost 5 months after planting. By the end of the first growing season and for the remainder of the study, vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizae development was approximately the same on all seedlings. The proportion of feeder roots colonized by vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi stabilized at 65 to 70%; approximately 56% of the cortical tissues of all feeder roots were colonized with arbuscles, vesicles, and hyphae. Periodic assays of the soil in the plantation showed that vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal spores gradually declined from an initial high of 3600 spores to 620 spores per 100-cm3 soil sample after 5 years. This decline was probably caused by crown closure of the sweetgum trees which gradually suppressed understory vegetation.


1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (5) ◽  
pp. 679-685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Widden

During a survey of the vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) associations of forest herbs in a deciduous forest in the southern Laurentian mountains in Quebec, two liliaceous species, Clintonia borealis and Medeola virginiana, revealed very distinctive morphology. In both species, once the epidermis was penetrated, the fungus spread towards the centre of the root via intracellular hyphae until the innermost layer of the cortex was reached, at which point the fungus spread laterally and tangentially through the cortical cells adjacent to the endodermis via a series of banana-shaped projections (bobbits). These eventually differentiated into the arbuscules and the VAM might spread from this inner cortical layer back into the outer cortical layers. In C. borealis, the hyphae coiled in the cortex, and vesicles were formed in the upper cortical cells. In M. virginiana, no coiling took place, but extensive diverticulae were produced by the intracellular hyphae in the cortical cells, close to their point of exit, and vesicles were produced in the inner cortex as swellings from the bobbits. These two mycorrhizae have some similarities to one in Colchicum autumnale described by I. Gallaud (1905. Rev. Gen. Bot. 17). Keywords: vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizae, Clintonia borealis, Medeola virginiana, Liliaceae, morphology.


HortScience ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 1362-1365 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Afek ◽  
L.A. Lippet ◽  
D. Adams ◽  
J.A. Menge ◽  
E. Pond

Vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculum consisting of a mixture of roots of coast redwood [Sequoia sempervirens (D. Don)], soil, and spores of Glomus mosseae (Nicol. and Gerd.) Gerdemann and Trappe was tested for viability and efficacy following storage for 4 or 8 weeks at 4, 9, 15, or 24C and moisture contents of 0%, 6%, 12%, or 17%. Storage regimes did not have any effect on the number of spores of Glomus mosseae recovered after storage. However, germinability of the spores decreased from 35% before storage to 10% to 31% during storage, especially under typical ambient room conditions (17% moisture at 24C). Maximum colonization of coast redwood, sierra redwood [Sequoiadendrom giganteum (Lindl.) Buchh.], and incense cedar (Libocedrous decurrens Torr.) was achieved after inoculation with 1 inoculum: 1 potting mix dilution (w/w). However, plant fresh weight was highest following inoculation with a 1 inoculum: 5 potting mix dilution (w/w). Dried inoculum was effective when stored at 24C, or below 10C when moist.


1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (7) ◽  
pp. 1466-1468 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Jabaji-Hare ◽  
S. I. Sridhara ◽  
B. Kendrick

A method for isolating the vesicles of vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi from within the roots of Allium porrum is presented. Colonized roots were homogenized with 0.3 M sucrose – 0.05 M NaHCO3 and filtered through cheesecloth. The supernatant was centrifuged (180 min, 82 000 g) on 1.3 M sucrose – 15 mM CsCl. Our tests yielded 46 000 vesicles per operator day, but the potential yield is limited only by the amount of root material available.


1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 1015-1024 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Menge

Commercial use of vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) may be an alternative to rising agricultural energy and fertilizer costs. Vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizae may be able to increase crop yields while reducing fertilizer and energy inputs. Since mycorrhizal fungi are naturally present in most soils, their unique fertilizer abilities are already being utilized by most crop plants. Commercial uses of VA mycorrhizal fungi are therefore currently restricted to situations where the natural populations of VAM fungi have been destroyed or damaged such as in fumigated or chemically treated areas, greenhouses, and disturbed areas such as coal spoils, strip mines, waste areas, or road beds. Commercial production of VAM inoculum is presently being attempted at several locations in the U.S. Vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculum is produced by growing VAM fungi on the roots of suitable host plants under aseptic greenhouse conditions The inoculum consists of the host-plant growth medium and host roots associated with VAM hyphae and spores which have been ground and dried. Most large-scale uses of VAM involve the establishment of the mycorrhizae on seedlings which will be transplanted to the field. Large-scale methods for direct inoculation with VAM have not yet been devised, but in small trials, layering, banding, broadcasting, and pelleting seed with VAM inoculum have proved effective. Methods for determining what soils are most likely to benefit from applications of VAM fungi are available. The potential for employing VAM fungi on a wide scale in agriculture is dependent on the development of crop growth-promoting strains of VAM which are superior to native soil populations of VAM fungi.


Soil Research ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 515 ◽  
Author(s):  
WM Porter

Estimates of the number of infective propagules of vesicular-arbuscular (VA) endophytes in two soils were obtained using a most probable number (MPN) method. These estimates were compared with counts of the number of spores in the same soils obtained using a conventional wet sieving method. In one soil, there was good agreement between the number of coarse endophyte propagules, estimated by the MPN technique, and the number of germinable spores extracted using the wet sieving technique. However, a large population of fine endophyte propagules (more than 230 per 50 g soil) could only be enumerated using the MPN technique. In the second soil, fewer coarse endophyte propagules were found using the wet sieving technique than when using the MPN technique. The MPN technique appears to give a more realistic estimate of the number of infective propagules of VA endophytes in field soils than the conventional method.


1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg F. Backhaus ◽  
Per Häggblom ◽  
Lars Owe Nilsson

Cuttings of Salixdasyclados and Salixdaphnoides were grown in clay, peat, or sand under greenhouse conditions and inoculated with endomycorrhizal roots. Uninoculated cuttings in the same substrates served as controls. All plants were fertilized with a commercial fertilizer solution. Shoot dry mass and colonization by vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were measured during the experiment. At the end of the experiment growth of inoculated plants was significantly enhanced in peat (p < 0.001) and sand (p < 0.01), while in clay, no effect of inoculation on growth was found. In peat and sand increased growth of plants could be correlated with frequency of vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization. No significant differences in concentrations of P or N in leaves and stems were noted between mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal plants at the end of the experiment. It is concluded that vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizae stimulate growth of willow under greenhouse conditions despite application of easily available nutrients.


1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (11) ◽  
pp. 1421-1426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret A. Cooke ◽  
Paul Widden ◽  
Ivan O'Halloran

The development, condition, and incidence of vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizae of Acer saccharum (sugar maple) seedlings grown in the greenhouse in natural sugar maple forest soil substrate were examined. The effects of the addition of a cation mixture containing calcium, magnesium, and potassium were also studied. The mycorrhizal structures observed were similar to those found in natural field conditions. Mycorrhizae developed intracellularly via hyphal coils, and arbuscules usually developed from these coils, forming arbusculate coils. This development is different from that observed in most annual crop plants. Vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal structures appeared within 30 days. The rate of mycorrhizal infection decreased, along with plant health, as the quantity of the added cations was increased, but the amendment did not affect the morphology of the infection. More vesicles were observed in the lowest level of application than in controls, suggesting a stress response and possible relationship between plant health and condition of the mycorrhizal association. Key words: Acer saccharum, development, vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizae.


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