Effects of arbuscular mycorrhiza, soil sterilization, and soil compaction on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) nutrients uptake

The stress of soil compaction, because of using agricultural machinery, may provide conditions such as limiting nutrient uptake, not suitable for plant growth. Here we hypothesized that using arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM, plant symbiotic fungi), as a biological method, may overcome the stress of soil compaction on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth by enhancing nutrient uptake. Soil surface layer of the Experimental Research Field of Soil and Water Research Institute in Karaj, Iran, was sieved, sterilized, and compacted at 10 kg pots in two experiments. At seeding wheat seeds were inoculated with different species of Glomus fungi with different origins. Shoot nutrient uptake of N, P, K, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu was determined. Soil sterilization significantly increased the nutrient uptake of mycorrhizal wheat even at the highest level of compaction. Even under compacted conditions, increased P uptake, due to AM inoculation had an important role to alleviate the stress. This novel finding may indicate the important role of AM to overcome the stress of soil compaction on wheat nutrient uptake, the independency of AM origin on their functionality, and the great importance of managing soil biological communities in agricultural systems.