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Soil samples collected from four remnant prairie plant communities in Indiana were used as innoculum for pot cultures of Sudan grass seedlings (Sorghum sudanense). The growth of seedlings was correlated with the quality of the prairie remnant; the less degraded sites provided innoculum which resulted in the most vigorous plant growth in culture. Sudan grass root segments were harvested and prepared for assay of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae. VAM was shown to be present in innoculated samples. Results indicate that soil collected from undisturbed prairie remnants may provide a better source of VAM innoculum for larger scale production of plants which associate with VA mycorrhizae.
Soil from four native prairie remnant sites was used as inoculum in pot culture to achieve vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) infection of Sudangrass [Sorghum sudanense (Piper) Stapf]. The prairie sites varied in their management histories and degradation levels. Sudangrass plants that became infected with VAM grew better than those grown in standard pasteurized greenhouse mix or those grown in a pasteurized greenhouse–prairie soil mix. Soil from prairie remnants may serve as a beginning source of inoculum that can be increased via Sudangrass pot culture for inoculation of prairie plant seedlings in nursery production.
Dormant bud tissue from two or more trees representing 18 red maple (Acer rubrum L.) cultivars was subjected to isozyme analyses using starch-gel electrophoresis. Polymorphic enzymes resolved were alcohol dehydrogenase, peroxidase, phosphoglucase isomerase, glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, leucine aminopeptidase, acid phosphatase, and malic dehydrogenase. An enzyme pattern or combination of patterns was useful in identifying individual cultivars, these included: `Autumn Blaze', `Autumn Flame', `Bowhall', `Celebration', `Columnare', `Curtis', `Doric', `Firedance', `Gerling', Y.J. Drake', `Morgan', `Northwood', `Scarlet Sentinel', `Schlesingeri', and `Tilford'. `Armstrong', `October Glory', and `Red Sunset' could not be distinguished from each other on the basis of enzymes examined in this study.
The objectives of this study were to compare the growth of prairie forb seedlings inoculated with vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi to noninoculated seedlings transplanted to a highway right-of-way and to evaluate the effect of different VAM fungal species or combinations on posttransplant seedling growth. Four species of prairie forbs: pale-purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida Nutt.), prairie blazingstar (Liatris pycnostachya Michx.), prairie phlox (Phlox pilosa L.), and gray-headed coneflower [Ratibida pinnata (Venten.) Barnh.], were grown in greenhouse mix and inoculated with Gigaspora margarita Becker and Hall, or Glomus interadicies Schenk and Smith, or with a native Indiana prairie soil inoculum, or with a mix of all three. They were transplanted to a highway site in June, 1994. Only gray-headed coneflower exhibited a positive growth response to VAM inoculation. Inoculation of gray-headed coneflower with G. margarita produced the largest growth response by the end of the experiment.
The objective of this study was to determine whether container size or incorporation of water-holding hydrogels in the container medium would affect growth of prairie perennials transplanted on a steep slope. Seedlings of pale-purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida Nutt.), rough blazingstar (Liatris aspera Michx.), gray-headed coneflower [Ratibida pinnata (Venten.) Barnh.], and little bluestem grass [Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash.], were grown in 3.7-cm (1.46-inch) diameter tubes that were either 13 cm (5.1 inches) or 18 cm (7.1 inches) long containing either standard greenhouse mix or the mix amended with hydrogels Terra-sorb AG or Liqua-Gel, or a nonhydrogel experimental compound, GLK-8924. The seedlings were transplanted to the slope in May 1994, and harvested in June 1995. After two growing seasons, plants of pale-purple cone-flower and gray-headed coneflower from the longer containers were larger (dry weight) than those from the shorter containers. The blazingstar and little bluestem were unafffected by container size. Terra-sorb AG and Liqua-Gel did not significantly affect height growth of the prairie perennials. GLK-8924-amended medium resulted in smaller or similar height plants.