Mycorrhizal inoculation effect inAcacia mangiumgrown in an acid oxisol amended with gypsum

Abstract

Glomus aggregatum and Acacia mangium were interacted in an acid manganese (Mn)‐rich oxisol unamended or amended with hydrated lime [Ca(OH)₂] or gypsum (CaSO₄) at soil phosphorus (P) concentrations considered optimal for mycorrhizal host growth. Vesicular‐arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (VAMF) colonization as well as VAMF function was significantly curtailed if soil was unamended with gypsum or lime. The highest mycorrhizal inoculation effect (MIE) was observed in the soil treated with gypsum at the rate of 0.32 g of calcium (Ca)/kg followed by the limed soil. Higher concentrations of gypsum deleteriously affected VAMF infectivity and effectivity. The first increment of gypsum compensated for part of the VAMF colonization and for all of the mycorrhizal inoculation effect that was lost due to low pH. The better MIE observed in the gypsum treated soil compared to that which was amended with lime suggests that the sensitivity of the acacia‐VAMF association to soil acidity was more a function of Ca inadequacy than it was of pH or associated increases in Mn concentration.