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Abstract
White clover (Trifolium repens L.) living mulch, a cover crop cultivation system, has been shown to improve phosphorus (P) nutrition and increase the yield and arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization rate of the main crop without inoculation of fungi. However, it remains unclear whether the P uptake of corn (Zea mays L.) in living mulch is promoted directly by arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization. We performed a pot experiment to test the hypothesis that living mulch increases the P uptake of corn by promoting arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization. The experimental design was a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement using fungicide treatment (fungicide application or no fungicide application) and cropping system (living mulch or no mulch). The fungicide dazomet was used to inhibit arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization. Without fungicide application, the P concentration and dry weight of the corn shoots were greater in the living mulch than in the no mulch treatment, indicating that living mulch improved the P nutrition and growth of corn. Fungicide application in living mulch, however, decreased the P concentration, dry weight of corn shoots, and arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization compared with no fungicide application. These results suggest that living mulch increases the P uptake of the main crop by promoting arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization by indigenous fungi.
Acknowledgments
We thank Mr Yoichi Kodate for his technical assistance.
