SHORT-TERM EFFECTS OF PHOSPHORUS AND VA-MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI ON NUTRITION, GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF CAPSICUM-ANNUUM-L

Seedlings of Capsicum annuum L. cultivar 'Early Bountiful' were grown in containers of river sand inoculated or not with the VA-mycorrhizal (VAM) fungus Glomus deserticola (Trappe, Bloss & Menge). Long Ashton Nutrient Solution (LANS) were modified to supply P at 11, 22 or 44-mu-g ml-1. After 42 days, plants were evaluated for growth, development and leaf elemental content. Short term effects occurred with P and VAM treatment. Increasing P fertility enhanced fruit number, leaf area, shoot, fruit and root dry weight, and decreased leaf area ratio (LAR). VAM increased leaf area of plants fertilized with full strength LANS (44-mu-g ml-1 P). VAM generally increased leaf tissue B, but decreased Mo. Tissue K and N in VAM plants was not decreased, as it was in non-mycorrhizal plants with increasing P fertility. Increasing P fertility generally decreased tissue Cu and Zn and increased P levels. Mycorrhizal colonization (% root length) and spores recovered per unit of soil were greater with plants fertilized with 11 than 44-mu-g ml-1 P levels.