Image of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi within a cotton root sample under optical microscope (160X magnification). The balloon-like structures are called vesicles. Vesicles are arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi’s storage structures. The lines extending from the vesicles are the hyphae of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
Lab bench showing dye, lower left, used to stain root amples collected in the field. Sections of the root samples are then placed on microscope slides, upper right, for analysis.
Hayley Crowell, Anna Yang, and others carefully collect cotton root samples to analyze arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization rates.
Newswise — August 16, 2021 – Fungi play very important roles for plants and subsequently, humans. The Soil Science Society of America’s August 15th Soils Matter blog takes a look at how these “living fertilizers” can help the soil – and our crop production systems, too. This week’s blog is written by Hayley Crowell from North Carolina State University.
With the known benefits, it's no surprise that researchers are looking to further understand how to protect and take advantage of these powerful, ancient fungi to improve crop productivity in degraded soils and a changing climate.
To read another blog about soil fungi, read Do plants and soil really talk. Be sure to subscribe to the Soils Matter blog to receive all our blogs.
Caption: Image of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi within a cotton root sample under optical microscope (160X magnification). The balloon-like structures are called vesicles. Vesicles are arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi’s storage structures. The lines extending from the vesicles are the hyphae of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
Caption: Lab bench showing dye, lower left, used to stain root amples collected in the field. Sections of the root samples are then placed on microscope slides, upper right, for analysis.
Credit: Audrey Gamble
Caption: Hayley Crowell, Anna Yang, and others carefully collect cotton root samples to analyze arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonization rates.
Fungi Microbes Crop Science soil Agriculture Fertilizer arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi