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Abstract
Three rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei Reade) plantations of different ages were surveyed in north Florida to determine the type and extent of mycorrhizal colonization. Ascocarps of an ectendomycorrhizal fungus, Elaphomyces persoonii Vitt., were found attached to the root of V. fuscatum Ait., a common wild blueberry. This fungus was identical morphologically to that isolated from roots of rabbiteye blueberry. Mycorrhizal colonization was greatest at the 8- and 18-year-old plantations, where at least 50% of the roots were colonized, and least at the 4-year-old planting and on 2-year-old bushes in the nursery. The greatest number of ascocarps was found in the wild near the most heavily colonized plantation. Soil P was highest at the 4-year-old and lowest at the 18-year-old planting. No monthly variation in the amount of mycorrhizal colonization was observed thoughout the year at the oldest site. Inoculum potential of ectendomycorrhizal fungi in the surrounding land, age of the planting, and P content of the soil appear to influence the extent of colonization of cultivated rabbiteye blueberry.