Associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi can increase or decrease plant resistance to herbivory in different crop systems, but the effects of AM fungi on plant tolerance to pests remain largely unknown. We investigated whether inoculation of rice (Oryza sativa) with AM fungi stimulates plant growth, yield, and/or tolerance to rice water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus) injury. Rice plants were exposed to natural infestations of herbivores during early and mid-to-late season over four field experiments. The experiments followed a 2 × 2 factorial design consisting of two AM fungi seed treatments (inoculated or non-inoculated with AM fungi) and two insecticide seed treatments (treated or untreated). Inoculation with AM fungi increased root colonization in all four field experiments in rice. Inoculation with AM fungi increased densities of weevil larvae and whiteheads resulting from stemborer infestations, while insecticidal seed treatments significantly reduced densities of weevils and marginally reduced whiteheads. Inoculation with AM fungi increased rice biomass before and after flooding, and a clear but not always significant increase in yield was observed in plants inoculated with AM fungi. However, inoculation with AM fungi did not reduce percent yield losses after herbivory injury. Analyses of nutrient contents in roots and shoots revealed inconsistent effects of inoculation with AM fungi. This study highlights for the first time the potential for AM fungi seed treatments to increase rice tolerance to insect pests by influencing plant biomass and yields.

与丛枝菌根（AM）真菌的关联可以增加或减少植物在不同作物系统中对草食动物的抗性，但是AM真菌对植物对害虫的耐受性的影响仍然未知。我们调查了AM真菌对水稻（Oryza sativa）的接种是否刺激植物生长，产量和/或对稻水象鼻虫（Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus）的耐受性） 受伤。在四个田间试验的早期和中后期，水稻植株暴露于草食动物的自然侵扰。实验遵循2×2析因设计，包括2种AM真菌种子处理（接种或未接种AM真菌）和2种杀虫剂种子处理（处理或未处理）。在水稻的所有四个田间试验中，接种AM真菌均会增加根部定植。接种AM真菌会增加因stem虫侵袭而引起的象鼻幼虫和白头的密度，而杀虫种子处理则显着降低了象鼻虫的密度并略微减少了白头。AM真菌的接种增加了水淹前后的水稻生物量，并且在接种AM真菌的植物中观察到明显但并非总是显着的产量增加。然而，食草动物伤害后接种AM真菌并没有减少产量损失的百分比。对根和芽中营养成分的分析表明，接种AM真菌的效果不一致。这项研究首次强调了AM真菌种子处理通过影响植物生物量和产量来提高水稻对害虫的耐受性的潜力。