EFFECTS OF HEBELOMA-ARENOSA AND PHOSPHORUS FERTILITY ON ROOT ACID-PHOSPHATASE-ACTIVITY OF RED PINE (PINUS-RESINOSA) SEEDLINGS

The ectomycorrhizal fungus Hebeloma arenosa Burdsall, MacFall & Albers was assayed for surface-accessible acid phosphatase activity in vitro on roots of red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) seedlings. Hebeloma arenosa was grown in defined liquid media containing 0, 17, 34, 68, or 136 mg/L phosphorus for 4 weeks. When assayed for acid phosphatase activity with p-nitrophenyl phosphate, 7.3-mu-mol of orthophosphate were released per gram dry weight of fungal tissue. There was no effect of added P on enzyme activity, excluding the treatment with no added P in which there was negligible fungal growth. Red pine seedlings were grown in Sparta loamy fine sand amended with 0, 17, 34, 68, or 136 mg/kg P as superphosphate, with and without H. arenosa inoculum. Mycorrhizal roots had greater enzyme activity than nonmycorrhizal roots of seedlings grown in similarly P-amended soil. This was determined by the following three assays: orthophosphate release from two salts of myoinosital hexaphosphate (Na and KMg) and from p-nitrophenyl phosphate. It is suggested that greater acid phosphatase activity by roots mycorrhizal with H. arenosa is one mechanism for improved P nutrition through the formation of a pool of P released from sources unavailable for direct intake.