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Effects of Penicillium bilaii on maize growth are mediated by available phosphorus

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Abstract

Background and aims

Inoculation with Penicillium bilaii has been reported to increase plant growth, which is attributed to increase availability of phosphorus (P), but similar effects have been observed with no P limitation, suggesting that other mechanisms may be involved. The aim of this work was to evaluate the interaction between available soil P and P. bilaii inoculation on plant growth.

Methods

Maize plants (Zea mays) inoculated with P. bilaii and non-inoculated were grown in pot experiments in three soils with different inherent P availability, and in a low P availability soil with different additions of mineral P, both with and without supplementation of all other macro and micronutrients.

Results

We found a positive interaction between P bilaii and available P, when other nutrients were applied, with P bilaii inoculation resulting in increased root growth and thus nutrient uptake and plant growth. By contrast, when other nutrients were not supplied, little effect on plant growth or P uptake was observed, except for root length that tended to decrease in inoculated plants with P addition.

Conclusions

The effects of P. bilaii inoculation were related to root growth and function, but were dependent on the nutrient status in the soil environment.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Lene Vigh, Lena Asta Byrgesen and Ayse Gül Özcetin for their support with sample analysis. This study was supported by Innovation Foundation Denmark (grant number 1308-00016B to the project “Microbial biofertilizers for enhanced crop availability of phosphorus pools in soil and waste, MiCroP”).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section for Plant and Soil Sciences, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, DK-1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark

    B. Gómez-Muñoz, L. S. Jensen, A. de Neergaard & J. Magid

  2. Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    A. de Neergaard

  3. CSIRO Agriculture & Food, PO Box 1700, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia

    A. E. Richardson

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  1. B. Gómez-Muñoz
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  2. L. S. Jensen
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  3. A. de Neergaard
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  4. A. E. Richardson
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  5. J. Magid
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Correspondence to J. Magid.

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Responsible Editor: Matthew G. Bakker.

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Gómez-Muñoz, B., Jensen, L.S., de Neergaard, A. et al. Effects of Penicillium bilaii on maize growth are mediated by available phosphorus. Plant Soil 431, 159–173 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-018-3756-9

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