Rushes and sedges are non-mycotrophic (original) (raw)

Summary

Few rushes and sedges were infected by endomycorrhizal fungi in the field, and many of the infections which were formed were mainly of mycelium in the rhizosphere with only occasional lodgements in epidermal cells. In a pot experiment using a soil of very low P availability, rushes and sedges remained non-mycorrhizal and yet produced more shoot dry matter than mycorrhizal Poa colensoi (Graminae). Rushes and sedges had much longer root systems than non-mycorrhizal Poa colensoi, but comparable shoot P concentrations. I suggest that they have evolved extensive and finely branched root systems rather than the mycorrhizal habit for extracting P from infertile soils. In pot experiments, they differ from mycotrophic angiosperms in rejecting mycorrhizal infection, even if suffering P deficiency. re]19740401

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Author notes

  1. C. Ll. Powell
    Present address: Ruakura Agricultural Research Center, Hamilton, New Zealand

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Botany Department, Otugo University, Dunedin, New Zealand
    C. Ll. Powell

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  1. C. Ll. Powell
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Powell, C.L. Rushes and sedges are non-mycotrophic.Plant Soil 42, 481–484 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00010023

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