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- Author or Editor: Ismail Ahmed x
- HortScience x
Fungicides applied as soil drenches affect arbuscular-mycorrhizal (AM) fungal colonization of plant roots to different degrees, depending on the chemical used. However, the effect of fungicides applied as seed treatments has been less studied, and is of particular interest to growers who want to encourage beneficial mutualisms while protecting seedlings against pathogens. We tested the effects of four common seed treatments, Apron (mefenoxam), Thiram, Raxil (tebuconzaole), and Captan on colonization of `Superstar' muskmelon roots by the AM fungus Glomus intraradices in the greenhouse. By 30 days after planting, colonization was very high (>90% root length) for all treatments, with relatively minor (<10%) differences in percent length root with AM hyphae. The Apron seed treatment had the highest percent root length with hyphae, but the lowest amount of vesicles, while roots from Raxil and Captan-treated seeds had the lowest hyphal colonization and highest vesicle formation. Myconate ®, a commercial formulation of formononetin, an isoflavone previously shown to increase AM colonization, significantly increased the percent colonization of roots from the Raxil treatment, but not other treatments. Myconate also increased vesicle numbers in all but the Captan treatments, but not significantly.