Selection of A Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus for Practical Inoculation of Uniola Paniculata

loss of wind-blown sand. However, these plants are exposed to environmental extremes (Woodhouse, 1982), and may depend on vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) associations to survive and grow on coarse-textured replenishment sands (Koske and Polson, 1984). Sands dredged from offshore sites may have few propagules of VAM fungi which may limit plant establishment on replenishment sites (Sylvia and Will, 1988). In contrast, VAM fungi are abundant in established dunes of the Atlantic coast (Sylvia, 1986; Koske, 1987). Sylvia (1986) reported eight species of VAM fungi associated with U. paniculata in foredunes along the northeastern coast of Florida, and several isolates of these fungi have been established successfully in pot cultures. VAM fungi differ widely in their ability to enhance plant growth and should, therefore, be screened before they are considered for inocula development (Powell, 1982; Schubert and Hayman, 1986; Medina et al., 1988). Effective isolates should infect roots rapidly and efficiently translocate nutrients to the plant (Abbott and Robson, 1981). If an isolate is to be used successfully to inoculate plants on a large scale, it