Effects of Mycorrhizal Fungi on Plant Growth, Nutrient Absorption, and Phytohormone Levels in Tea Under Shading Conditions

The study conducted by Sun M et al. on December 22, 2020, examined the impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and shading on the growth and physiology of tea plants. The experiment, which used a 2² factorial design with four treatments replicated six times, found that both AMF inoculation and shading significantly improved various growth parameters of tea plants, such as plant height, shoot and root biomass, root morphology, and leaf nutrient content. Root hair growth was also enhanced, and this was associated with the up-regulation of genes involved in root hair growth and phytohormone biosynthesis and transport. Specifically, the study observed increased levels of growth-promoting phytohormones like gibberellins and brassinosteroids, and decreased levels of growth-inhibiting phytohormones such as abscisic acid and jasmonic acid. These findings suggest that AMF inoculation and shading can be beneficial for tea plant cultivation, enhancing growth and stress resistance by modulating phytohormone levels and gene expression related to nutrient absorption and root development. The study's conclusions are supported by statistical analysis with a significance level set at P<0.05.