The Effect of Penicillium Bilaii Inoculant on Lentil Growth and Phosphorus Uptake.

Inoculation with Penicillium spp. of fungi has been reported to increase plant growth and P uptake in some crops like wheat, canola and tomato. Increasing the solubility of solid phase P compounds by modifying the rhizosphere pH, increasing the activity of other beneficial organisms like mycorrhizae, and improvement of plant root growth through hormonal alteration have been proposed as possible mechanisms by which Penicillium species and other P solubilizers promote plant growth. We studied the impact of Penicillium bilaii inoculant on growth and P uptake of lentil in different soils from Saskatchewan under controlled environment (growth chamber) conditions. Lentil plants that were inoculated with Penicillium bilaii produced significantly more aboveground biomass, accumulated more P, and had more mycorrhizal roots than the uninoculated controls.  Various root properties were measured, and inoculated plants produced longer and finer roots with less root volume than the control. The increase in root length and fineness may be a dominant factor responsible for increased plant growth and P uptake observed in inoculated lentil plants.