ICOM1 Abstract

CHAREST, CHRISTIANE1 & YOLANDE DALPƒ2. 1Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, PO Box 450 STN A, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5 Canada. 2Eastern Cereal Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agrifood Canada, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6 Canada. - Use of endomycorrhizae as a non- chemical method for the production of agrostid lawn grass. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of mycorhizal inoculation as an alternative for chemical fertilizers in the production of quality lawn grasses, the growth of the agrostid grass (Agrostis palustris Huds.), inoculated with Glomus versiforme or G. etunicatum, was assessed in a greenhouse experiment. The agrostid grass production was studied on parcels grown with (M+) or without (M-) mycorrhizae, subjected or not to herbicide treatment and to four fertilizer concentrations achieved by varying P & N contents. Biomass, leaf water, chlorophyll, and protein contents have been measured. Results showed that root colonization % was inversely proportional to the concentration of fertilizer added. While leaf water content remained unchanged under all treatments, protein levels significantly increased in M+ plants, especially with G. etunicatum. The chlorophyll content remained constant in M+ plants but significantly decreased in M- plants with low fertilizer level. Herbicide treatment did not affect the chlorophyll content of M+ plants but tended to decrease the chlorophyll level of M- plants. Herbicide application combined with low P treatment caused a slight decrease in shoot biomass but this impact on M+ was lower than on M- plants. This study suggests that beneficial effects may be expected from mycorrhizal inoculation in relation to a reduced input of chemicals employed in lawn production.