Could the artificial inoculation of AM fungi improve the benefits of using pea (Pissum sativum L) plants for soil amendment purposes in greenhouses?
Meca, E., Sallaku, G., Balliu, A. 2017
Acta Hortic. 1164. ISHS 2017
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2017.1164.30
Abstract
The study aimed to investigate the effects of commercially available AMF inoculate (Glomus sp. mixture) on the growth and the nutrient acquisition of garden pea (Pisum sativum L.) plants. Inoculated (AMF+) and non-inoculated (AMF-) pea plants were subjected to two levels of NaCl salinity (0 and 50 mM NaCl). Several times during the growing cycle, randomly selected plants were analyzed for dry matter of roots and the aboveground biomass. Plant tissue samples were analyzed for N, P and K concentration and the total uptake, specific absorption rate (SAR) and specific utilization rate (SUR) of these elements were calculated. Raised salinity drastically decreased the dry matter of roots and aboveground biomass and significantly deteriorated the specific utilization rate (SUR) of main nutrient elements in pea plants. The presence of AM fungi significantly reduced the dry matter of roots, but on the contrary significantly increased the dry matter of shoots and the overall plant dry matter. Furthermore, AM fungi inoculation significantly increased the specific absorption rate (SAR) of N, P and K under both; control and saline conditions and enhanced the specific absorption rate (SUR). As a conclusion, the inoculation of garden pea with AM fungi significantly increased the volume and improved biomass production in pea grown as greenhouses soil amendment crop (green manure).