Field inoculation of American beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata) with V-A mycorrhizal fungi

Abstract

Ammophila breviligulata is the major species planted along the Mid- and North Atlantic Coast of the US to stabilize maritime dunes. Field inoculation with native species of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (VAMF) in a Massachusetts sand dune resulted in improved establishment, more vigorous early growth, and greater panicle production than that occurring in uninoculated controls. The percentage of root tissue colonized in the inoculated plot was low (2-4%) up to 13 wk after inoculation, but increased to 48.8% at the end of the first growing season (22 wk after planting). -from Author