Interference betweenSalsola kali L. seedlings: Implications for plant succession

Studies were conducted to determine the cause of the decline of the early successional species,Salsola kali L., in the years following its colonization of disturbed soils in arid regions of the western United States. DriedS. kali plant material significantly stimulated the growth ofS. kali but had no effect on the growth or levels of mycorrhizal infection ofAgropyron smithii, a later successional grass. In contrast, root leachates fromS. kali caused a depression in the growth ofS. kali, but had no effect on the growth or mycorrhizal infection ofA. smithii. In the reciprical experiment, root leachates fromA. smithii had no effect on mycorrhizal fungi,S. kali, orA. smithii. This study contradicts earlier studies of the allelopathic potential ofS. kali litter and supports the importance of direct interference betweenS. kali seedling as the cause of the die-off ofS. kali during secondary succession.     

FACILITATION OF SUCCESSION BY THE NONMYCOTROPHIC COLONIZER SALSOLA KALI (CHENOPODIACEAE) ON A HARSH SITE: EFFECTS OF MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI

The effects of inoculation with vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on nonmycotrophic (plants which do not form a mycorrhizal association) colonizing annuals and on mycotrophic perennials were investigated in southwestern Wyoming. A subsoil containing no initial mycorrhizal inoculum was used, and seeds of the later successional perennials were planted. The annuals were removed from one-half of the sampling quadrats to test for the interaction of competition and mycorrhizae on the perennials. During the third and fourth years of succession, the density and percent cover of Salsola kali, the most abundant nonmycotrophic annual, decreased by one-half to one-third with inoculation. Mycorrhizal hyphae and spores were found in the rhizosphere of S. kali, with only occasional (1–2% of the root length) penetration of hyphae into the cortex. There were no differences in tissue phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations or water relations of inoculated vs. uninoculated S. kali. The planted grasses, all Agropyron species, had no significant increase in density or percent cover with inoculation. The percent root infection of A. smithii was 5–30%. Grass density and percent cover was greatest where S. kali was present, suggesting facilitation of grass establishment by annuals on this harsh, windy site. However, grass density was lower where 5. kali density was lower following inoculation. Mycorrhizal fungi were hypothesized to hasten the rate of succession on other sites. On this site where facilitation is an important process, inoculation of early seral plants and their subsequent decline may slow primary succession in the early years.     

Short-Term Vegetation and Soil Responses to Mechanical Destruction of Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus L.) Warrens in an Australian Box Woodland

We studied the impact of disturbance by rabbits on plants and soils along a gradient out from the center of ripped rabbit warrens in an Australian semiarid woodland. Five years after the warrens were ripped, the impact of rabbits was still apparent. The cover of bare soil declined, and the cryptogam cover increased with increasing distance from the warren mound. However, litter cover, plant cover, and plant diversity remained unchanged with increasing distance from the mounds. Differences in plant composition were apparent with increasing distance from the mounds, with three species, Schismus barbatus, Salsola kali var. kali, and Chenopodium melanocarpum dominating the mounds, whereas the perennial grass Austrostipa scabra dominated the nonwarren control surfaces. Two species, Crassula sieberana and S. barbatus, dominated the active soil seed bank on ripped warrens. The mounds had the lowest number of species in the soil seed bank, whereas the warren edge microsite had the greatest. Ripped and unripped warrens differed substantially in their complement of species, and ripped warrens contained an order of magnitude fewer active warren entrances compared with unripped warrens. Ripped warrens also had significantly more plant cover than unripped warrens. Taken together, our results reinforce the view that rabbits have a destructive effect on surface soils and vegetation in semiarid woodlands and suggest that restoration of the original woodland vegetation after warren ripping is likely to be a slow and ongoing process.     

Indigenous populations of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and soil aggregate stability are major determinants of leek (Allium porrum L.) response to inoculation with Glomus intraradices Schenck & Smith or Glomus versiforme (Karsten) Berch

 Knowledge of physical, chemical and biological soil characteristics influencing plant response to inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi would help to distinguish soils where inoculation could be profitable. The relationship between leek (Allium porrum L.) response to mycorrhizal inoculation with Glomus intraradices Schenck & Smith or G. versiforme (Karsten) Berch and soil texture, bulk density, particle density, porosity, pH, organic matter content, available P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn, soil structure, soil mycorrhizal potential (SM), preceding crop mycorrhizal potential, composition of indigenous mycorrhizal fungal communities, and the abundance of spores of different species, was studied in 81 agricultural soils using Principal Component Analysis and regression analysis. The nature of the indigenous AM fungi population was an important determinant of leek response to inoculation (RTI). In soils with more than 200 μg available P g^–1, SM potential accounted for over 27% of RTI with G. intraradices and G. versiforme, RTI being high in soils with low SM potential. In low P soils, however, a positive relation between the abundance of water stable soil aggregates in the 0.5–2 mm diameter range and RTI was most important. Low soil Zn and high porosity, abundant total mycorrhizal spore as well as scarcity of spores of G. aggregatum and of the group G. etunicatum-rubiforme were also associated to high RTI. The influence of water stable aggregation of soil on RTI was modulated by soil P levels. Abundance of soil aggregates was positively related to RTI at low soil P levels, but negatively related to RTI at high P levels. Different relationships were found between soil variables and spore abundance of different AM fungi species. Some AM species appear to have as yet undefined similarities or complementarities at the biological or ecological levels. Accepted: 23 July 1997     

Bacterial associations with the mycorrhizosphere and hyphosphere of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus mosseae

Roots and mycorrhizal fungi may not associate with soil bacteria randomly, but rather in a hierarchical structure of mutual preferences. Elucidation of such structures would facilitate the management of the soil biota to enhance the stability of the plant-soil system. We conducted an experiment utilizing two isolates of soil bacteria to determine their persistence in distinct mycorrhizal regions of the root zone, and their effects on general rhizosphere populations of fluorescent pseudomonads (FP). Split-root sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) plants were grown in four-compartment containers, constructed so that the soils in individual compartments held either (1) roots colonized by the arbuscular-mycorrhizal (AM) fungus Glomus mosseae (M), (2) nonAM roots only (R), (3) hyphae of G. mosseae (H), or (4) no mycorrhizal structures (S). The soils were inoculated (10⁷ cells g^-1 dry soil) with antibiotic-resistant (rifampicin, rif; streptomycin, sm) strains of the soil bacteria, Alcaligenes eutrophus (rif^r50) or Arthrobacter globiformis (sm^r250), or were left uninoculated as control. A. eutrophus had been isolated from a specific source (hyphosphere soil of G. mosseae), and A. globiformis from mycorrhizosphere soils of two AM fungi. After 10 wk of growth, the presence of A. eutrophus was barely detectable (<10 cfu g^-1 dry soil) in nonAM (R and S) soils, but persisted well (10⁴ cfu g^-1 dry soil) in AM (H and M) soils. Numbers of A. globiformis were more evenly distributed between all soils, but were highest in the presence of AM roots (M soil). There were varied bacterial effects on root and AM-hyphal development: A. eutrophus decreased hyphal length in H soil, while A. globiformis stimulated root length in M soil. The two bacterial inoculants did not affect numbers of FP in H, R, and M soils, but the AM status of the soils did: the numbers of FP increased in the order M>R>H>S. There was a positive correlation of FP numbers with both bacterial inoculants in M and H soils. Numbers of FP changed with root or hyphal lengths, an effect that was related to changes in the numbers of the inoculated bacteria. The results indicate that the hyphosphere-specific A. eutrophus depended on the presence of G. mosseae, but that the nonspecific A. globiformis did not. The mycorrhizal status of soils may selectively influence persistence of bacterial inoculants as well as affecting the numbers of other native bacteria.     

Role of basidiospores as inocula of mycorrhizal fungi of birch

Summary Fruitbodies of sheathing mycorrhizal fungi collected under birch (Betula pendula andB. pubescens) were suspended over pots of soil and the resulting spore-supplemented soils were planted with sedlings ofB. pendula. Inocybe lacera, I. lanuginella, Hebeloma sacchariolens andH. leucosarx formed mycorrhizas readily.Lactarius pubescens andLeccinum roseofracta did not form mycorrhizas from basidiospore inocula, even after prolonged periods of seedling growth.Paxillus involutus gave equivocal results, perhaps because the soil was unsuitable for this species. Storage of the basidiospore-supplemented soils for 6 months in outdoor conditions or in a growth room at 18°C did not materially alter the results.The results are discussed in relation to the concept of mycorrhizal succession.     

Identification of methionine synthase (Sal k 3), as a novel allergen of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salsola kali</Emphasis> pollen

Salsola kali pollen is a common cause of pollinosis during summer and early fall in desert and semi-desert regions. The aim of this study was the identification and characterization of Sal k 3, a new allergen from S. kali pollen. S. kali pollen extract was fractionated by SDS-PAGE and the allergenic profile was determined by IgE-immunoblotting using twelve S. kali allergic patients. Protein identification was carried out by the means of mass spectrometry. Using degenerated primers, two DNA fragments encoding N- and C-terminal domain of Sal k 3 were amplified by PCR, then cloned into the PTZ57R/T vector and sequenced. The open reading frame of Sal k 3 fragments were subcloned in the pET-32b(+) vector, expressed in E. coli, and purified by Ni²⁺ affinity chromatography. The IgE-binding capacity of rSal k 3 fragments was then studied by IgE-immunoblotting, inhibition assays, and skin prick tests. A 45-kDa allergen was identified as a fragment of the cobalamin-independent methionine synthase (MetE) by mass spectrometry and was detected in the sera of 8/12 (66.6%) of S. kali allergic patients. Moreover, inhibition assays demonstrated that the purified rSal k 3 fragments were similar to their counterparts in the crude extract. Sal k 3 represents a new allergen of S. kali pollen and seems to be an important allergenic compound in S. kali pollen.     

Effects of liming and mycorrhizal colonization on soil phosphate depletion and phosphate uptake by maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) grown in two tropical acid soils

The effects of liming and inoculation with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, Glomus intraradices Schenck and Smith on the uptake of phosphate (P) by maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) and on depletion of inorganic phosphate fractions in rhizosphere soil (Al-P, Fe-P, and Ca-P) were studied in flat plastic containers using two acid soils, an Oxisol and an Ultisol, from Indonesia. The bulk soil pH was adjusted in both soils to 4.7, 5.6, and 6.4 by liming with different amounts of CaCO₃.In both soils, liming increased shoot dry weight, total root length, and mycorrhizal colonization of roots in the two plant species. Mycorrhizal inoculation significantly increased root dry weight in some cases, but much more markedly increased shoot dry weight and P concentration in shoot and roots, and also the calculated P uptake per unit root length. In the rhizosphere soil of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants, the depletion of Al-P, Fe-P, and Ca-P depended in some cases on the soil pH. At all pH levels, the extent of P depletion in the rhizosphere soil was greater in mycorrhizal than in non-mycorrhizal plants. Despite these quantitative differences in exploitation of soil P, mycorrhizal roots used the same inorganic P sources as non-mycorrhizal roots. These results do not suggest that mycorrhizal roots have specific properties for P solubilization. Rather, the efficient P uptake from soil solution by the roots determines the effectiveness of the use of the different soil P sources. The results indicate also that both liming and mycorrhizal colonization are important for enhancing P uptake and plant growth in tropical acid soils.     

Influence of temperature on colonization of spring barleys by vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

The effects of three soil temperatures on growth of spring barleys (Hordeum vulgare L.) and on their root colonization by vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi from agricultural soils in Montana (USA) or Syria at different inoculum concentrations were tested in soil incubators in the greenhouse. The number of mycorrhizal plants as well as the proportion and intensity of roots colonized increased with higher soil temperatures. VAM fungi from Montana, primarily Glomus macrocarpum, were cold tolerant at 11°C while those from Syria, primarily G. hoi, were heat tolerant at 26°C. Inoculum potential of Montana VAM fungi was higher than Syrian VAM fungi in cool soils. Harmal, selected from Syrian barley land races, had the highest colonization by mycorrhizal fungi of the cultivars tested.Journal Series Paper: J-2532 Montana Agricultural Experiment Station.     

Evaluation of elemental allelopathy in Acroptilon repens (L.) DC. (Russian Knapweed)

Although Acroptilon repens (L.) DC. (Russian knapweed) is known to concentrate zinc (Zn) in upper soil layers, the question of whether the elevated Zn has an allelopathic effect on restoration species has not been addressed. Experiments were conducted to investigate whether soils collected from within infestations of A. repens (high-Zn) inhibit the germination or growth and development of desirable restoration species, compared to soils collected adjacent to an A. repens infestation (low-Zn). Four bioassay species [Sporobolus airoides (Torrey) Torrey (alkali sacaton), Pseudoroegneria spicata (Pursh) A. Love (bluebunch wheatgrass), Psathyrostachys juncea (Fischer) Nevski (Russian wildrye) and A. repens] were germinated in a growth chamber and grown in a greenhouse in both soils and received treatments for the alleviation of Zn toxicity (P, Fe, Fe-oxide, and soil mixing) to isolate the effects of elevated soil Zn on plant performance. Percent germination, total plant biomass, tiller and stem number, inflorescence number, and tissue metal levels were compared among soil types and treatments for each species. There was no evidence from any of the indicators measured that high-Zn soils reduced plant performance, compared to low-Zn soils. Tissue Zn levels barely approached the lower range of phytotoxic levels established for native grasses. Older plants with longer exposure times may accumulate higher Zn concentrations. S. airoides and A. repens both had higher biomass in the high-Zn soil, most likely due to increased macronutrient (N and P) availability. As the Zn levels in the soils used in this study were much higher than any levels previously reported in soils associated with A. repens, it is unlikely that the elevation of soil Zn by A. repens will hinder germination or growth and development of desirable grasses during establishment.     

The effect of soil temperature on survival ofFusarium oxysporum f.melonis (Leach and Currence) Snyder and Hansen

Summary Most of the washed conidia ofFusarium oxysporum f.melonis introduced into either autoclaved or naturally infested soils disappeared after 30 days incubation at temperatures between 5 and 30°C, but more rapid decline in population took place at the higher temperatures and in naturally infested soil. The population of f.melonis after 14 months incubation was greatest at 15 and lowest at 5°C in both autoclaved and nonautoclaved soils. The survival units were chlamydospores associated with the previously invaded organic particles. This association is considered to be an important factor in the organism's survival in soil.     

INFLUENCE OF SUPPLEMENTAL INORGANIC NUTRIENTS ON GROWTH,SURVIVORSHIP, AND MYCORRHIZAL RELATIONSHIPS OF SCHIZACHYRIUM SCOPARIUM (POACEAE) GROWN IN FUMIGATED AND UNFUMIGATED SOIL

Little bluestem grass Schizachyrium scoparium ([Michx.] Nash) plants were grown under field conditions for 2 years in soils fumigated with methyl bromide and chloropicrin, or in unfumigated soil, and treated with supplemental inorganic nutrients (bases calcium and magnesium) phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium. Most differences in measured plant responses were due to interactions between fumigation and nutrient treatments. These included biomass production, root mass per unit length (μg/cm), root lengths, flowering culm production, percent colonization, colonized root length, and spore production in rhizosphere soil. Plants generally responded to mycorrhizal fungal colonization by reducing total root length and producing thicker roots. Treatment of plants with bases appeared to profoundly affect the mycorrhizal association by reducing sporulation of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and increasing colonization. When fumigated or unfumigated soils were considered separately, base-treated plants produced more biomass than other treatments. Base-treated plants grown on unfumigated soil had more flowering culms and longer colonized root lengths than all other plants. Percent colonization by mycorrhizal fungi and colonized root length were positively correlated with phosphorus/nitrogen ratios, but the ratio was not correlated with plant biomass production. This suggests that phosphorus is not a limiting nutrient in our soil and investment in a mycorrhizal association may not result in enhanced plant growth. The base-nutrient effects may indicate a need to reevaluate earlier studies of macro nutrient effects that did not take into account the role played by calcium and magnesium in assessing fungus-host plant interactions.     

Amelioration of adriamycin-induced cardiotoxicity by Salsola kali aqueous extract is mediated by lowering oxidative stress

Abstract

Objectives

To assess the cardioprotective effect of the Salsola kali aqueous extract against adriamycin (ADR)-induced cardiotoxicity in male Swiss albino mice.

Methods

The aqueous extract of S. kali was phytochemically screened by traditional methods for different classes and further evaluated for antioxidant activity in vitro. In vivo, cardioprotective evaluation of the extract was designed to have four groups of mice: (1) control group (distilled water, orally; normal saline, intraperitoneally (i.p.)); (2) ADR group (15 mg/kg, i.p.); (3) aqueous S. kali extract (200 mg/kg, orally); and (4) ADR + S. kali group. ADR (5 mg/kg) was injected three times over 2 weeks while S. kali was orally administered daily for 3 weeks (1 week before and 2 weeks during ADR treatment). Cardioprotective properties were assessed using biochemical and histopathological approaches.

Results

ADR caused a significant increase in serum enzymes (lactate dehydrogenase, creatine phosphokinase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alanine aminotransferase). Myocardial levels of malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, and reduced glutathione, as well as the activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase increased while the activities of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase declined. Histopathological examination of heart sections revealed that ADR caused myofibrils loss, necrosis and cytoplasmic vacuolization.

Discussion

Pretreatment with S. kali aqueous extract normalized serum and antioxidant enzymes minimized lipid peroxidation and cardiac damage. These results have suggested that the extract has antioxidant activity, indicating that the mechanism of cardioprotection during ADR treatment is mediated by lowering oxidative stress.     

Moisture retention properties of a mycorrhizal soil

The water relations of arbuscular mycorrhizal plants have been compared often, but virtually nothing is known about the comparative water relations of mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal soils. Mycorrhizal symbiosis typically affects soil structure, and soil structure affects water retention properties; therefore, it seems likely that mycorrhizal symbiosis may affect soil water relations. We examined the water retention properties of a Sequatchie fine sandy loam subjected to three treatments: seven months of root growth by (1) nonmycorrhizal Vigna unguiculata given low phosphorus fertilization, (2) nonmycorrhizal Vigna unguiculata given high phosphorus fertilization, (3) Vigna unguiculata colonized by Glomus intraradices and given low phosphorus fertilization. Mycorrhization of soil had a slight but significant effect on the soil moisture characteristic curve. Once soil matric potential (_m) began to decline, changes in _m per unit change in soil water content were smaller in mycorrhizal than in the two nonmycorrhizal soils. Within the range of about –1 to –5 MPa, the mycorrhizal soil had to dry more than the nonmycorrhizal soils to reach the same _m. Soil characteristic curves of nonmycorrhizal soils were similar, whether they contained roots of plants fed high or low phosphorus. The mycorrhizal soil had significantly more water stable aggregates and substantially higher extraradical hyphal densities than the nonmycorrhizal soils. Importantly, we were able to factor out the possibly confounding influence of differential root growth among mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal soils. Mycorrhizal symbiosis affected the soil moisture characteristic and soil structure, even though root mass, root length, root surface area and root volume densities were similar in mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal soils.     

Some Mediterranean plant species (Lavandula spp. and Thymus satureioides) act as potential ‘plant nurses’ for the early growth of Cupressus atlantica

The mycorrhizal status of several representative shrub species (Lavandula spp. and Thymus satureioides) in Moroccan semiarid ecosystems, was evaluated as well as their contribution to the mycorrhizal potential of the soil. Furthermore, the rhizosphere soils collected under these target species were tested for their influence on the growth of Cupressus atlantica, a tree species whose natural stands has declined in this area. Soil samples were collected from the rhizosphere of L. stoechas, L. dentata and of C. atlantica existing in the experimental area. Control samples were randomly collected from bare soil sites, away from plant influence.All the target species formed AM symbiosis and the extent of AM fungal colonization was not significantly different between plant species. No significant difference was detected between the total number of AM fungal spores of the bare soil and those recorded in the root zones of target species and C. atlantica. Three genera of AM fungi (Scutellospora, Glomus and Acaulospora) were present in the rhizospheres of the plant species and in the bare soil.The number of mycorrhizal propagules in soil originating from around the four target plant species was significantly higher than the one in the bare soil (Figure 1). The most probable number (MPN) of mycorrhizal propagules per 100 g of dry soil ranged from 7.82 (bare soil) to 179.7 (L. dentata and C. atlantica) and 244.5 (L. stoechas and T. satureioides). As the total number of spores was not different for the soil of different origins, the increase of the mycorrhizal soil infectivity (MSI) mainly resulted from larger AM mycelial networks that constituted the main source of AM fungal inoculum. In addition, this MSI enhancement was linked with changes in the functioning of soil microbial communities. In a glasshouse experiment, the growth of C. atlantica seedlings was significantly higher in the C. atlantica and in the shrub species soils than in the bare soil. Although the AM inoculum potential is not sufficient to ensure the development of forest trees in Mediterranean ecosystems, the use of plant nurses such as T. satureioides or Lavandula spp. could be of great interest to restore a self-sustaining vegetation cover to act against desertification.     

Soil transfers from valley oak (Quercus lobata Nee) stands increase ectomycorrhizal diversity and alter root and shoot growth on valley oak seedlings

 Soils from valley oak (Quercus lobata Nee) riparian areas of the Cosumnes River Nature Conservancy Preserve near Sacramento, California were added to growth medium of valley oak seedlings grown in a greenhouse or in agricultural fields at Cosumnes which probably once supported valley oak trees and are now replanted with native riparian vegetation or allowed to revegetate naturally. Agricultural field soil from the Cosumnes River Preserve was presumed to be low or lacking in ectomycorrhizal inoculum. The study was designed to (1) determine whether valley oak stand soil transfer could cause mycorrhizal infection on valley oak seedlings in an agricultural field and in a greenhouse, (2) describe ectomycorrhizal morphological types formed on valley oak seedlings, and (3) determine whether seedling growth is enhanced more by transfer of natural valley oak stand soil than agricultural field soil. In the field study, transfer of forest soil increased average ectomycorrhizal diversity (2.4 types) more than transfer of agricultural field soil (1.2 types). Valley oak seedlings were responsive to ectomycorrhizal infection in the field study. With increase in mycorrhizal infection there was an increase in shoot growth at the expense of root growth. In the greenhouse study, both percent mycorrhizal infection and mycorrhizal diversity were increased more by transfer of oak forest and woodland soils than agricultural field soil. Eight morphotypes occurred on seedlings in forest and woodland soils but only three morphotypes in agricultural soil. This result strongly suggests that the agricultural field also harbors ectomycorrhizal propagules but forest and woodland soils support a more abundant and diverse ectomycorrhizal flora. Accepted: 17 August 1997     

Survival of Sclerotium cepivorum Sclerotia and Fusarium oxysporum Chlamydospores in Soil Amended with Cruciferous Residues

The use of cruciferous plant residues to reduce the amount of sclerotia of Sclerotium cepivorum and chlamydospores of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici in soil was investigated. Air‐dried and crushed mustard (Brassica juncea) added to the soil effectively reduced the viability of fungal propagules. Consequently, the reduction of white rot of onion, caused by S. cepivorum and wild of tomato caused by F. oxysporum was observed. The addition of rapeseed (Brassica. napus cv. Bolko and B. napus cv. Gorczanski) residues to soil also resulted in a significant decrease of number of S. cepivorum sclerotia but the effect on F. oxysporum chlamydospores was variable. Introduction of the plant material increased the total number of bacteria, spore‐forming bacteria, fluorescent pseudomonads, actinomycetes, and fungi in soil. One year after the soil amendment, the amount of sporeforming bacteria in treatments with cruciferous residues was higher as compared to the control soil without plant residues. The possible contribution of the decomposition of plant residues and soil micro‐organisms to the reduction of the pathogens population is discussed.     

Establishment of Two Ectomycorrhizal Shrub Species in a Semiarid Site after in Situ Amendment with Sugar Beet, Rock Phosphate, and Aspergillus niger

A field experiment was carried out to assess the effectiveness of the addition of sugar beet, rock phosphate, and Aspergillus niger directly into the planting hole, and the mycorrhizal inoculation of seedlings with Scleroderma verrucosum, for promotion of plant growth of Cistus albidus L. and Quercus coccifera L. and enhancement of soil physicochemical, biochemical, and biological properties, in a degraded semiarid Mediterranean area. One year after planting, the available phosphorus content in the amended soils of both species was about fourfold higher than in the nonamended soil. Amendment addition increased the aggregate stability of the rhizosphere of C. albidus (by 56% with respect to control soil) while the mycorrhizal inoculation increased only the aggregate stability of the rhizosphere of Q. coccifera (by 13% with respect to control soil). Biomass C content and enzyme activities (dehydrogenase, urease, protease-BAA, acid phosphatase, and -glucosidase) of the rhizosphere of C. albidus were increased by amendment addition but not by mycorrhizal inoculation. Both treatments increased enzyme activities of the rhizosphere of Q. coccifera. The mycorrhizal inoculation of the seedlings with S. verrucosum was the most effective treatment for stimulating the growth of C. albidus (by 469% with respect to control plants) and Q. coccifera (by 74% with respect to control plants). The combined treatment, involving mycorrhizal inoculation of seedlings and addition of the amendment directly into soil, had no additive effect on the growth of either shrub species.     

Growth and survival of Verticillium chlamydosporium goddard,a parasite of nematodes,in soil

Selective media for the isolation of the nematophagous fungus Verticillium chlamydosporium, are described. These enabled densities > 500 colony forming units (CFU) g^‐1 soil to be reliably estimated. However, there was little relationship between estimates of the Verticillium biomass in a sterilized soil and the numbers of CFU which developed on the selective media. The growth and survival of the fungus infield soils were studied and estimates of the numbers of CFU in soils in which cyst‐nematode multiplication was suppressed were greater than in those in which the nematode multiplied. Isolates of the fungus differed in their ability to proliferate in soil, but some increased rapidly from applications of chlamydospores or a mixture of hyphae and conidia in alginate granules containing wheat bran. The energy source (wheat bran) was essential for the establishment of the fungus from granular applications. Numbers of CFU greatly exceeded those of chlamydospores, but there was considerable variation in the relationship in different soils. Some isolates of V. chlamydosporium proliferated in soil and survived in considerable numbers for at least 3 months. Hence, pre‐cropping applications of the fungus should survive long enough to kill nematode eggs and females that develop on roots of spring‐sown crops.     

Status of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in the Sundarbans of India in relation to tidal inundation and chemical properties of soil

The arbuscular mycorrhizal status of fifteen mangroves and one mangrove associate was investigated from 27 sites of three inundation types namely, diurnal, usual springtide and summer springtide. Roots and rhizospheric soil samples were analysed for spore density, frequency of mycorrhizal colonization and some chemical characteristics of soil. Relative abundance, frequency and spore richness of AMF were assessed at each inundation type. All the plant species except Avicennia alba exhibited mycorrhizal colonization. The study demonstrated that mycorrhizal colonization and spore density were more influenced by host plant species than tidal inundation. Forty four AMF species belonging to six genera, namely Acaulospora, Entrophospora, Gigaspora, Glomus, Sclerocystis and Scutellospora, were recorded. Glomus mosseae exhibited highest frequency at all the inundation types; Glomus fistulosum, Sclerocystis coremioides and Glomus mosseae showed highest relative abundance at sites inundated by usual springtides, summer springtides and diurnal tides, respectively. Spore richness of AMF was of the order usual springtide > diurnal > summer springtide inundated sites. The mean spore richness was 3.27. Diurnally inundated sites had the lowest concentrations of salinity, available phosphorus, exchangeable potassium, sodium and magnesium. Statistical analyses indicated that mycorrhizal frequency and AMF spore richness were significantly negatively correlated to soil salinity. Spore richness was also significantly negatively correlated to available phosphorus. The soil parameters of the usual springtide inundated sites appeared to be favourable for the existence of maximum number of AMF. Glomus mosseae was the predominant species in terms of frequency in the soils of the Sundarbans.