Response of plant growth to Collembola, arbuscular mycorrhizal and plant pathogenic fungi interactions

We studied the effects of interactions among the collembolan Protaphorura armata (Pa), the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices (Gi), and the foot and root pathogenic fungus Fusarium culmorum (Fc) on the growth and health of durum wheat plants cv. Creso in modified Leonard plastic bottle-jars containing sterile soil added with peat and sand. Five weeks old mycorrhizal plants were grown in the presence of Fc propagules and specimens of Pa for five weeks under controlled conditions. The control plants consisted in non treated plants, non mycorrhizal plants infected with Fc, and mycorrhizal plants with and without Collembola. The mycorrhizal colonisation, the root and shoot dry weight, and the disease index were determined at the end of the experiment. Also the number of animals was determined, and their gut content analysed. Under the experimental conditions considered, the presence of Collembola did not decrease the positive effect of G. intraradices on the plant biomass and did not reduce the biocontrol capacity of the AM fungus.