The growth of Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum) as influenced by vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Fusarium oxysporum, and fertility level

Abstract

Easter lily bulbs were inoculated in the greenhouse with pot-culture inoculum containing a mixture of four vesicular–arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizal fungi as well as other fungi and bacteria, including pathogens. These organisms had multiplied in association with roots of lily, onion, and clover in pot cultures inoculated with sievings from lily field soils. Growth, as measured by bulb weight gain, root volume, and total leaf area, was determined on lily bulb plants inoculated at two inoculum levels and grown under three fertilizer regimes. Growth of plants inoculated with pot-culture inoculum was less than that of controls, especially in plants given the high inoculum (which included pot-culture plant roots) and the high rate of fertilization. The growth reduction apparently was due to the combined effect of greater incidence of Fusarium oxysporum root rot infections, damage to roots from fertilizer, and lower incidence of VA mycorrhizal infections. More mycorrhizal infections occurred in the low-fertilizer treatment than in the high- or no-fertilizer treatments at both high and low inoculum levels, but more F. oxysporum root rot occurred in the high-inoculum, high-fertilizer treatment.In a second experiment, lily seedlings that lacked bulb nutrient reserves were grown at a low fertilizer level and inoculated with Acaulospora trappei without any pathogens. Mycorrhizal plants were significantly larger than nonmycorrhizal control plants, and their tissues contained more N, P, K, Ca, and Mg than control plant tissues.