Abstract
An easily constructed apparatus for extraction of VAM fungal spores from soil samples by a modification of Gerdemann and Nicolson's wet sieving and decanting method is described. For the soils employed in this study, it proved considerably more effective and more precise than either the original wet sieving and decanting method or differential water/sucrose centrifugation. The apparatus gave results that were less subject to interference from extraneous particles than the wet sieving and decanting method. The effect of prior soil dispersion is also reported.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Allen M F, MooreJr T S and Christensen M 1979 Growth of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal and nonmycorrhizal Bouteloua gracilis in a defined medium. Mycologia 71, 666–669.
Doncaster C C 1962 A counting dish for nematodes. Nematologica 7, 334–337.
Emerson W W 1967 A classification of soil aggregates based on their coherence in water. Aust. J. Soil. Res. 5, 47–57.
Gerdemann J W and Nicolson T H 1963 Spores of mycorrhizal Endogone species extracted from soil by wet sieving and decanting. Trans. Br. Mycol. Soc. 46, 235–244.
Ianson D C and Allen M F 1986 The effects of soil texture on extraction of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal spores from arid sites. Mycologia 78, 164–168.
McKenney M C and Lindsey D L 1987 Improved method for quantifying endomycorrhizal fungi spores from soil. Mycologia 79, 779–782.
Mosse B and Jones G W 1968 Separation of Endogone spores from organic soil debris by differential sedimentation on gelatin columns. Trans. Br. Mycol. Soc. 51, 604–608.
Ohms R E 1957 A flotation method for collecting spores of a phycomycetous mycorrhizal parasite from soil. Phytopathology 47, 751–752.
Sutton J C and Barron G L 1972 Population dynamics of Endogone spores in soil. Can. J. Bot. 50, 1909–1914.
Tommerup I C 1982 Airstream fractionation of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: concentration and enumeration of propagules. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 44, 533–539.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Vilariño, A., Arines, J. An instrumental modification of Gerdemann and Nicolson's method for extracting VAM fungal spores from soil samples. Plant Soil 121, 211–215 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00012314
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00012314