Abstract:In a pot experiment effects of inoculation with two strains of AM fungus Glomus intraradices on growth, Cu and P uptake and mineral nutrition of maize plants under different Cu addition levels were investigated. The results indicated that mycorrhizal inoculation significantly increased dry weights and P uptake of maize plants. Root Cu concentrations markedly increased with increasing Cu addition levels. For all treatments, root Cu concentrations were significantly higher than shoot Cu concentrations,while under each Cu addition level root Cu concentrations of inoculated plants were significantly higher than those of uninoculated controls. Under Cu addition level of 200 mg/kg, root to shoot ratio of Cu concentration in inoculated plants was 44-48, in contrast to 12 for uninoculated plants. In general, no obvious differences were found in the inoculation effects between the two fungal strains. The experiments demonstrsted that arbuscular mycorrhiza could effectively retain Cu in plant roots, which may be one of the key mechanisms for the alleviation of Cu phytotoxicity by mycorrhizal associations.