Effects of Symbiotic Fungi on Sugars and Soil Fertility and Structure-Mediated Changes in Plant Growth of Vicia villosa

Wan-Xia He, Qiang-Sheng Wu, Abeer Hashem, Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah, Pandiyan Muthuramalingam, Al-Bandari Fahad Al-Arjani and Ying-Ning Zou ()
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Wan-Xia He: College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China
Qiang-Sheng Wu: College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China
Abeer Hashem: Botany and Microbiology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Elsayed Fathi Abd_Allah: Plant Production Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Pandiyan Muthuramalingam: Department of Horticultural Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 52725, Korea
Al-Bandari Fahad Al-Arjani: Botany and Microbiology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Ying-Ning Zou: College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze University, Jingzhou 434025, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-12

Abstract: Many terrestrial plants form reciprocal symbioses with beneficial fungi in roots; however, it is not clear whether Vicia villosa , an important forage and green manure crop, can co-exist with these fungi and how such symbiosis affects plant growth and soil properties. The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of inoculation with three arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) such as Diversispora spurca , Funneliformis mosseae , and Rhizophagus intraradices and an endophytic fungus Serendipita indica on plant growth, root morphology, chlorophyll and sugar levels, soil nutrients, and aggregate size distribution and stability in V. villosa plants. After 63 days of inoculation, the beneficial fungi colonized the roots with colonization rates of 12% to 92%, and also improved plant growth performance and root morphology to varying degrees, accompanied by the most significant promoted effects after R. intraradices inoculation. All AMF significantly raised chlorophylls a and b , carotenoids and total chlorophyll concentrations, along with a significant increase in leaf sucrose, which consequently formed a significantly higher accumulation of glucose and fructose in roots providing carbon sources for the symbionts. Root fungal colonization was significantly ( p < 0.01) positively correlated with chlorophyll compositions, leaf sucrose, and root glucose. In addition, inoculation with symbiotic fungi appeared to trigger a significant decrease in soil Olsen-P and available K and a significant increase in NH 4 -N, NO 3 -N, and glomalin-related soil protein levels, plus a significant increase in the proportion of water-stable aggregates at the size of 0.5–4 mm as well as aggregate stability. This improvement in soil aggregates was significantly ( p < 0.01) positively correlated with root fungal colonization rate and glomalin-related soil protein concentrations. The study concludes that symbiotic fungi, especially R. intraradices , improve the growth of V. villosa , which is associated with fungal modulation of sugars, soil fertility and root structural improvement.

Keywords: aggregate stability; endophyte; glomalin; mycorrhiza; soil nutrient (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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