New Research Grant Funded by ARS
Dr. August E. Kehr, ARS President
At the recent Board of Directors meeting, action was taken awarding a research grant to Dr. Larry Englander, University of Rhode Island, under the title "Mycorrhizal Associations of Rhododendron." Dr. Englander has noted large numbers of fruiting bodies of a soil fungus growing in an apparent "'partnership" association with 'English Roseum' and 'Cunningham's White' rhododendrons. Dr. Englander hopes to find out whether the fungus is actually connected with the mineral and water transport system of the rhododendrons in a true mycorrhizal association. If so, this would prove to be one of the first examples of such symbiotic relationships in rhododendrons. Mycorrhizal fungi are known to be associated with a few other plants, and as a result, the plants grow more thriftily and resist attack of organisms causing root diseases.