Influence of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) Inoculation on Growth and Mycorrhizal Dependency of (Lens culinaris L.) Varieties

Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are soil fungi, obligate biotrophic fungi and form the most common mutualistic symbiosis in nature: the arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM). This association occurs on the roots of most plants, promoting improvements in plant growth and development. The present study was aimed to investigate the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus aggergatums, Glomus fasciculatum, Glomus mosseae and Sclerocystis niger) inoculation on growth and mycorrhizal dependency of Lens culinaris L. varieties. The experiment was carried out under natural condition with two treatments (inoculated and control) in triplicates. Inoculation of lentil plants with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi resulted a significant increase in various plant growth parameters compared to plants without inoculation. In addition, fungal inoculation significantly increased mycorrhizal dependency as compared to un-inoculated plants. It is concluded that fungal inoculation improve plant growth parameters under phosphorous deficient soil.