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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Plant Stress and Germplasm Development Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #109208
Title: EFFECT OF LOW SOIL TEMPERATURE AND SOIL DISTURBANCE ON EARLY ROOT GROWTH AND MYCORRHIZAL ASSOCIATION IN COTTON

Author
item ZAK, J - TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY
item McMichael, Bobbie

Submitted to: National Cotton Council Beltwide Cotton Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/31/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The growth of cotton seedlings on the Southern High Plains have been shown to benefit from their association with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. We examined the effects of soil disturbance, soil temperatures, and soil moisture on AM colonization of cotton. A three year field evaluation (1994 to 1997) of AM inoculum from a conventional cotton system and cotton planted into terminated winter wheat found that AM inoculum levels were consistently higher when cotton was planted in the terminated wheat system than for conventional cotton. To understand the effects of soil conditions on the survival of AM inoculum a series of growth chamber studies was conducted that examined the effects of soil moisture, soil temperatures and soil disturbance on subsequent colonization levels. In the first experiment, cotton was grown under controlled conditions in soil that was either kept saturated, or dry at 28C. for one month. Plants were either grown at 28 or 18C soil temperatures. Mycorrhizal colonization was highest for plants grown at 28C regardless of soil moisture levels. Soil moisture did have an impact when soil temperatures were sub-optimal for root growth (18C). In other experiments we examined the effects of soil disturbance and soil moisture on AM colonization of cotton. There were no differences in colonization levels of plants in any treatment (wet soil; dry soil; wit soil disturbed, and dry soil disturbed) for either experiment when plants were grown at 28C. The planting of a mycorrhizal crop before planting cotton does increase AM inoculum levels. The observed decline in AM inoculum may be due to the warm winter temperatures. Soil disturbance does not appear to have contributed to the decline. Soil temperature does appear to be a major factor affecting AM survival.