Examination of mycorrhizal inoculum for improving maize tolerance to water stress in pot culture using zeolite and Andisol

Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is known as beneficial microsymbiont that capable to support plant growth by increasing nutrient uptake and improving plant tolerance toward diverse adverse conditions, such as water stress. The present study examined single and mixture mycorrhizal inoculum sources for improving maize tolerance to water stress in pot culture using zeolite and Andisol. Pot culture experiment was conducted using a Factorial Completely Randomized Design with three factors: A: Media type (A0: zeolite, A1: Andisol), B: AM Inoculum sources (B0: No inoculum, B1: Inoculum from Andisol, B2: Inoculum from eight soil types), C: Media moisture level (C1: 50%, C2: 70% of field capacity), with three replications. Each pot contained 300 g of media that sterilized using formaldehyde 2%, Maize were grown until maximal vegetative phase (77 days after planting). The results showed that maize growth on Andisol was higher than on zeolite, inoculum from Andisol were resulted in higher effect than a mixture of inoculum from eight soil types. On zeolite media (A0), inoculum B1 showed to improve plant tolerance to water stress at moisture level of C1 as indicated by plant dry weight (PDW) that 38.6% higher than B2 and 31.9% higher than B0, whereas on Andisol (A1), inoculum B1 resulted PDW 13.4% higher than B2 and 38.4% higher than B0. By AM inoculation in pot culture, maize growth on zeolite media at C1 was lower than at C2, whereas maize growth on Andisol at C1 was higher than at C2 conditions.