Oxygen evolution from tomato (C3) plants with and without mycorrhiza: Open photoacoustic cell measurement and statistical analysis

Abstract
Mycorrhiza, a common association between root plants and mycorrhizic fungus provides some benefits to the plant, improving its nutrient uptake and increasing the drought resistance as well as the photosynthetic rate. Open photoacoustic (OPC) cell technique was used here to study oxygen evolution from C3 plants (tomato) with and with mycorrhizic fungus (Glomus Fasciculatum) under the lighting conditions similar to those characteristic for the mid-day sunlight. The OPC was found capable of discriminating between the two contributions to photoacoustic signal. The experimental evidence was collected for statistically significant differences between photobaric signals from plants with and without mycorrhiza.