Impact of inoculation with single and mixed species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the soil fertility and the nutrient uptake of young olive plants

Abstract

The current study aimed to determine the effect of single and dual inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on soil quality and mineral content of young olive plants. One-year-old self-rooted olive plants (Olea europaea L.) of the cultivar Chetoui were inoculated with different AMF: (i) Glomus deserticola (AMF1); (ii) Gigaspora margarita (AMF2) or (iii) a 1:1 mixture of G. deserticola and G. margarita (AMF3). After one year of symbiosis, the obtained results showed that AMF played an important role in improving the fertility of the experimental soil by increasing the organic matter and the micro-nutrients contents (Nt, P and K+), as compared to control soil. Such effect induced an improvement in marco- and micro-nutrient contents in leaves and roots of all inoculated olive plants. The beneficial effect of mycorrhizal association was more important under inoculation with mixed species of AMF.