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CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Thesis
A mycorrhizal inoculant has varied effects on early Vitis vinifera 'Merlot' and 'Chardonnay' growth and nutrient uptake
Washington State University
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
01/2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000005416
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/119030
Abstract
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form symbiotic associations with plant roots and can assist in the uptake of phosphorus (P). In low nutrient soils AMF may be more effective as a plant-growth promoter than in high nutrient soils. The research presented here evaluates the effect of AMF on grapevine (Vitis vinifera) growth and nutrient uptake in different soil P treatments. We tested two popular grape varieties, Merlot and Chardonnay, on their own rootstock. Dormant vines were grown in sterile background soil with the following treatments: Control, AMF, P Fertilizer, and AMF +P Fertilizer for five months then destructively harvested to collect final shoot and root biomass. Vine shoot length measurements were collected when shoots were developed enough to measure starting at 60 days after planting and collected every 30 days after until harvest. Subsamples of roots were scored for percentage mycorrhizal colonization and foliar nutrient analysis was performed to determine whether root colonization by AMF improved vine P and nutrient uptake. We found AMF significantly improved the shoot growth of Merlot but not Chardonnay vines in treatments without added P fertilizer. We found the AMF +P fertilizer treatment in Merlot produced greater root biomass relative all other treatments. Both cultivars treated with P fertilizer had increased foliar P concentrations at harvest, but neither cultivar was significantly affected by AMF. These results support our hypothesis that AMF would be most beneficial to vine growth in the treatments without P fertilizer. Understanding the conditions in which mycorrhizal fungi are most beneficial to grapevine growth and nutrient uptake will help to optimize vineyard management plans aimed at reducing inputs and improving agricultural sustainability.
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Details
- Title
- A mycorrhizal inoculant has varied effects on early Vitis vinifera 'Merlot' and 'Chardonnay' growth and nutrient uptake
- Creators
- KC Pasquale Cifizzari
- Contributors
- Tanya E. Cheeke (Advisor)Michelle Moyer (Committee Member)Stephanie Porter (Committee Member)Tarah Sullivan (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- School of Biological Sciences
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 45
- Identifiers
- 99900592260801842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis