Responses Of Different Wheat Varieties To Colonization By Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi

Excessive fertilization is a problem that cannot be ignored during the production of wheat in China.Excessive fertilization often leads to low fertilizer utilization efficiency and a series of environmental problems.Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are widely spread in agricultural soils.They can colonize wheat roots and form beneficial symbiosis.Therefore,AM fungi have great potential in reducing fertilizer application during wheat production.Inoculum of AM fungi cannot be produced in large-scale to date,which limits the application of AM fungi in agro-ecosystems.Therefore,this paper aimed to investigate influence of AM inoculation on growth of different wheat varieties,and screen the wheat varieties with distinct positive mycorrhizal responses.In this study,275 different wheat varieties were investigated.The pot experiment was carried out outdoor in the Northwest A&F University.Non-mycorrhizal(CK)and mycorrhizal(AM)treatments were established.Samples were taken at flowering and maturity stages,and shoots biomass,nitrogen(N),phosphorus(P)and potassium(K)concentrations were determined,and the results were as follows:1.Inoculation of AM fungi significantly improved grain yield,total N uptake,total P uptake and shoots K uptake of the wheat varieties with different living habits,breeding ages and main planting areas.Mycorrhizal responses of wheat on grain yield did not relate to living habits and breeding ages,but mycorrhizal responses of wheat in N and P uptake of wheat varieties released after 1981 were significantly higher than that released before 1981.There was no significant difference in N and P uptake of wheat varieties among different main planting areas.2.AM inoculation significantly improved N,P,K harvest indexes,grain N and K utilization efficiency of wheat cultivars regardless living habits,breeding ages,and main planting areas,but reduced grain P utilization efficiency.N,P,and K harvest indexes and mycorrhizal response of grain nutrient utilization efficiency did not vary among different living habits wheat varieties,but mycorrhizal responses of wheat cultivars released before 1960 were higher than other release ages.Mycorrhizal responses of foreign wheat varieties were higher than that of domestic wheat varieties.3.AM inoculation significantly reduced shoot P utilization efficiency of wheat,and the effects on N and K utilization efficiency varied depending on living habits,breeding ages and main planting areas.Mycorrhizal responses of wheat on shoots nutrient utilization efficiency did not relate to wheat habits,breeding ages and main planting areas.4.The wheat varieties AC-TABER,Xiaoyan 759,RED-BOBS-222,and SALTI NAIMYA were typical varieties that had obvious positive mycorrhizal responses to AM inoculation.