Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Date of Graduation

Summer 2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Department of Biology

Advisor(s)

Heather Griscom

Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are fungi that form symbiotic associations with 70-90% of plant families. They are known to allow for the extension of the root system as well as an increase in plant size by assisting with the uptake of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. The role that AMF play in plant health and success has led to the development of commercial inoculum, which is used in agricultural settings. However, soil fertility, and soil amendments are known to affect AMF and plant associations. This study intends to look at how cultivated American Ginseng seedlings are affected by commercial inoculum. This greenhouse study examines how soil type (2 levels), liming (2 levels), and inoculation (2 levels), affect plant growth. Two distinct soil types were collected from the field. Stratified American ginseng seeds were planted in cone-tainers in a regulated greenhouse system in a factorial design, with fifteen cone-tainers for each treatment combination. At seven months, seedlings were measured for root length, stem length, leaflet width, above-ground biomass, and percent infection Additionally, roots of American Ginseng plants planted in Rowlesburg, WV in a field plot design were examined for arbuscular mycorrhizal association while spores from this field site were counted and quantified. Liming had greatest effect on most parameters including root length, stem length, leaf width, and leaf length (p

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