Abstract
Previous cropping of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) host plants is widely known to positively affect the growth of subsequent AM host plants by improving AM colonization and increasing phosphorus uptake. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the effect of previous cropping on AM colonization and growth of maize (Zea mays L., an AM host plant) in Andosol fields in Konsen, Hokkaido, Japan. We observed that AM colonization and early growth of maize were significantly higher in a plot in which maize had previously been grown than in plots in which sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) or white mustard (Sinapis alba L.), both of which are non-AM-host plants, had previously been grown. In addition, early growth of maize in the plot in which maize had previously been grown was less affected by a reduction in the phosphorus application rate than was the growth of maize in plots in which non-AM-host plants had previously been grown. These results suggest that using AM fungi in fields where maize is cultivated continuously may be an efficient phosphorus application method.
