The Effects that Native, Commercial, and Absent Mycorrhizae have on the Cellular Growth and Development of Bromus inermis and Elymus canadensis in both Sterilized and Non-sterilized Prairie Soils.

Abstract

In our experiment we used Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi to form a relationship with the plant and the soil to compensate for the lacking nutrients. The purpose of this study was to determine if the AM Fungi helped aid plants with the uptake of nutrients. We used the plants Bromus inermis and Elymus canadenis, non-sterilized and sterilized soil, inoculated and non inoculated. Over the course of a month we measured the diameter of the stem and the chlorophyll content of each individual plant. The last week of the experiment we measure each individual plant’s biomass (above ground and underground). We had no significant results in the differentiation of each plant species when compared to inoculated and non inoculated. Our conclusion was that both plant species were positively affected by being in sterilized soil, regardless of the inoculate type.