QUANTIFYING VESICULAR‐ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAE: A PROPOSED METHOD TOWARDS STANDARDIZATION *

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Abstract
SUMMARY: A standard method for the quantification of root colonization by vesicular‐arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizal fungi is needed. From the examination of roots from three different host species, the estimation of the percentage of the length of root segments containing V A mycorrhizal fungal structures was found to be more accurate than the determination of the percentage of root segments with VA mycorrhizal fungal structures. It was no more time consuming, and was not influenced by segment size. Examination of a minimum of seven samples, each with 25 randomly selected 0‐5 to 10 cm root segments, was needed for confidence limits to be within 10% of the mean It is proposed that, for the sake of comparability between studies, this procedure be adopted as a standard method.