Plant and Soil 137(2): 181-190 (Nov 1991)
Influence of temperature on colonization of spring barleys by vesicular
arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
William E.
Gpey
Department of Plant Pathology,
Montana State University, 59717 Bozeman, MT, USA
Abstract 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.