Mycorrhizal colonization and nutrient uptake of dry bean in manure and compost manure treated subsoil and untreated topsoil and subsoil

Abstract

Eroded or leveled Portneuf silt loam soils (coarse-silty mixed mesic Durixerollic Calciorthid) have been restored to topsoil productivity levels by manure application, but not by other organic sources such as cheese whey. In dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Viva), only soil organic matter and Zn concentration of leaf tissue correlated with improved yields. Manure application could potentially increase or decrease mycorrhizal colonization depending on which factors dominate. Manured and unmanured soils from a long-term field experiment were sampled and mycorrhizal spores were quantified, but there was no significant manure treatment effect on spore numbers. A greenhouse study was conducted to see if manure or composted manure freshly applied to subsoils would facilitate mycorrhizal colonization in dry bean roots compared to untreated topsoil or conventionally fertilized subsoil. Low level colonization (< 5%) was observed 21 days after planting 1867

Fallow Versus Wheat Cropping of Unamendedand Manure-Amended Soils Related to Mycorrhizal Colonization, Yield, and Plant Nutrition of Dry Bean and Sweet Corn

“…This con®rms observations by Tarkalson et al (12) with sweet corn and wheat in 1997. However, results with dry bean in the ®eld were opposite those from the greenhouse pot experiment using freshly exposed subsoil (11). The con¯icting accounts of greenhouse and ®eld colonization for dry bean could be due to a decreased effectiveness of manure over time.…”

“…Boswell et al (10) found the degree of AM infection of corn positively correlated with growth and yield. Tarkalson et al (11) observed increased AM colonization of dry bean roots from dairy manure applied at time of planting to freshly exposed subsoil samples in the greenhouse but decreased colonization in ®eld-grown sweet corn and wheat from manure applied to soils six years earlier (12). Increases in nutrient uptake and yield from arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM)-plant symbiosis are well documented (13,14,15,16).…”

“…Manure or other organic amendments may either increase (12,21,22,23) or decrease root colonization by AM fungi (11,24,25). St. John et al (26) reported that soil organic matter enhanced the length and branching of AM hyphae.…”

“…This experiment was conducted to clarify the observed contradiction in the role of manure application on AM relationships in subsoils observed in sweet corn and wheat under ®eld conditions (12) compared to greenhouse studies on dry bean (11). Sampling plants in a way similar to Tarkalson et al (12), AM colonization was measured during the growing season ®ve times on dry bean and six times on sweet corn.…”

Addition of activated switchgrass biochar to an aridic subsoil increases microbial nitrogen cycling gene abundances

“…Understanding the effect of designed biochars on soil microbiology may have a substantial practical impact on our ability to improve the productivity of eroded calcareous soils, whose lack of organic C inhibits microbial activity (Tarkalson et al, 1998). In this case, the switchgrass biochar employed is one developed specifically for its low pH, which potentially will help neutralize the target soil's alkaline character and further enhance microbial contributions.…”