Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Rhizobium on ion content and root characteristics of green bean and maize under intercropping

Zahra Marzban,Elham Faryabi,Shahram Torabian

doi:10.14720/aas.2017.109.1.08

Zahra Marzban, Elham Faryabi + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.14720/aas.2017.109.1.08

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Abstract

In order to evaluate arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobium bacteria effects on leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentration and root characteristics of green bean and maize under intercropping, experiment was carried out in the research field of College of Agriculture, Payame Noor University of Azna, Lorestan, Iran. In experiment, sandy loam soil with pH 7.3 and EC 0.49 dS m-1 was used.The treatments comprised three cropping systems (sole cropping of green bean and maize, and intercropping), and four inoculations (control, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, rhizobium and mix of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobium). The results showed that inoculation with rhizobium improved length, diameter, volume and area of green bean root.The highest of green bean N, P concentration and root dry mass were observed in sole culture of green bean inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Moreover, root length, diameter, volume and area of maize increased by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and total concentration of N and P enhanced with use of rhizobium in sole cropping. Although the usage of Rhizobium and AMF can be affected on increasing the root growth and nutrient uptake of crops, application of bacterium and fungi combination at the same time would not be suitable. Overall, intercropping of maize with green bean caused to increase of leaf N and P concentrations and root growth of maize.

Highlights

Fertilizer of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are crucial to the growth of all plants
Analysis of variance indicated that the effects of cropping system, Rhizobium and interaction of cropping system × Rhizobium and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) × Rhizobium were considerable on nitrogen content (Table 1).The results showed that application of rhizobium and AMF under different cropping systems increased nitrogen content of green bean
The maximum nitrogen content was recorded in sole culture of bean with AMF by 86.59 % and the minimum was observed in intercropping without inoculation by 49.4 % (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Fertilizer of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are crucial to the growth of all plants. Previous studies suggested that AMF can promote plant N uptake and improve plant N nutrition (Corkidi et al, 2002). The successful association between plants and AMF is a strategy to improve the nutritional status of both, which reduces the use of fertilizers especially P.These fungi increase the surface area of roots and help in absorbing some diffusionlimited nutrients such as Zn, Fe and Cu (Almagrabi and Abdelmoneim, 2012). The fungi form hyphae outside of the plant, extending the root-soil interface to facilitate the uptake of nutrients such as phosphates and water (Kistner and Parniske, 2002). Root-colonizing bacteria are known to influence plant growth by various direct or indirect mechanisms. Plant growth promoting bacteria are reported to influence the growth, yield, and nutrient uptake by an array of mechanisms. Some bacterial strains directly regulate plant physiology by mimicking synthesis of plant hormones, whereas others increase mineral and nitrogen availability in the soil as a way to augment growth (Yasmin et al, 2007)

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