This greenhouse experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Rhizobium on dry matter production, N uptake and efficiency of use in Eucalyptus grandis and Sesbania virgata plants grown in intercropping systems. The transfer of N from Sesbania virgata to Eucalyptus was also evaluated, using the isotope 15N. The treatments were: with or without inoculation of both plant species with AMF and with or without inoculation of S. virgata with Rhizobium. Plastic pots divided in three compartments (A, B, and C), with a volume of 2 L were used. A and B compartments were separated by a plastic division, while between the B and C compartments a nylon mesh screen (40 mm) allowed the penetration of hyphae only, not of plant roots. Root systems of the S. virgata plants were divided between the compartments A and B at planting, and Eucalyptus plants were cultivated in the compartment C. Seven mg kg-1 of 15N-(NH4)2SO4 with 99% of 15N were applied in compartment A. The plants were grown for 100 days and then harvested. In Eucalyptus plants, the Rhizobium, AMF and AMF + Rhizobium treatments increased the dry matter production by 119, 223, and 209%, respectively, and the N content by 125, 247, and 310%, respectively, in relation to control plants. In S. virgata plants, all treatments inoculated with microorganisms increased the N content and decreased the C/N rate. The efficiency of N use was greater in Eucalyptus plants inoculated with AMF and did not vary with the treatments in sesbania. A transfer of 15N from S. virgata to Eucalyptus plants was observed in all treatments.
arbuscular mycorrhiza; 15N; symbiotic association; legume; biological nitrogen fixation
