The Effects of Salinity on Mycorrhizal Association and Corn Growth

Salinity is a significant problem regarding plant growth.Salinity hinders plant reproduction and growth by impeding nitrogen uptake and interfering with a seed's capability of germinating.High salinity in a seed's environment can lead to a low osmotic potential, which may eventually result in little to no water uptake.Mycorrhiza fungi are a specific type of fungi that establish a mutualistic association between plant roots and fungi.This relationship often permits plants to uptake nutrients and water more readily.Mycorrhizal fungi help plants build a tolerance to stressful conditions like salinity, heat, and extreme temperatures.This experiment was conducted under four different treatments: 0.5M salt concentration with wild root organic mighty mycorrhizae, 0.2M salt concentration with mycorrhizae, no salt concentration but mycorrhizae added, and a control group (no salt concentration and no mycorrhizae), with all treatments containing an equal amount of soil (miracle grow potting mix soil) and corn seeds.These four separate treatments were placed in a growth chamber set to 12 hours of light at 26℃ (to represent daytime) and 12 hours of darkness at 23℃ (to represent nighttime).The measurements were taken over the course of three weeks.A major finding was that the presence of salinity significantly inhibited the growth of corn plants.In addition, the presence of mycorrhizae allowed for relatively faster and healthier growth of the plants.These revealed that salinity has a negative effect on plant growth.However, if mycorrhizae are present, this negative effect is mitigated as the plant develops a remarkable tolerance against salinity.Furthermore, the results indicate that the plant grown with mycorrhizae will more readily uptake more nutrients and water, overall producing a healthier plant.