Studies on soil-plant relationships in agricultural systems

Low-phytate seed: growth of seedlings from seed genotypes with inorganic phosphorus substituted for phytic acid as seed phosphorus store indicates that the inorganic form confers no disadvantage and that mycorrhizal development proceeds as normal (McGonigle and Raboy, submitted).

Wheat mycorrhizae: arbuscules of field grown wheat across Idaho are poorly developed, and the roles of genotypes and field management in this effect need to be determined (McGonigle, Forster, and Strausbaugh, submitted).

Biofumigation: use of various crucifers as an alternative to chemical soil fumigation to control soil-borne disease has serendipitously shown that some crucifers more potently suppress mycorrhizae in the subsequent plant generation, which for the first time indicates a chemical action rather than inoculum retardation by non-host growth (McGonigle, Geary and Brown, in preparation).

Alfalfa genotypes: genetic differences in mycorrhizal responsiveness are related to root system morphology in greenhouse studies (Russell, McGonigle, Wolf, Kurle, and Pfleger, in preparation).