VAM are important in the growth of cotton and the production of lint. VAM are a normal part of cotton plants and they are usually present in the roots. Only in their absence do we realise their importance.

The research had three parts: * Quantify the V AM fungi at depth in the soil * Determine the rate of colonisation of roots of cotton by V AM fungi.

OBJECTIVES 1993/4 Determine the common species of V AM fungi in the cotton areas of eastern Australia. Place the fungi in pot culture.

In this and a related project funded by ARC, four fungal isolates of each of two common species were compared for their effect on plant growth.