XVI International Botanical Congess

Effects of cultivating green manure crops (summer sowing) on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) formation and growth of succeeding maize were examined under field conditions. AM colonization and shoot weight of maize were much higher in plots following mycorrhizal crops (sunflower and common vetch) than in those succeeding fallow and non-mycorrhizal crop (mustard). Growth of succeeding maize was, however, unaffected by incorporating the green manure crops. The results suggest that an increased AM colonization during cultivation of mycorrhizal crops improved efficiency of AM formation in the following season, which enhanced P uptake and growth of succeeding maize.