Mycorrhizal status of Argania spinosa (L.) Skeels in northeastern of Morocco

Abstract

The argan tree, an endemic species in Morocco, has been exhaustively studied in its southwestern range but neglected in its northeastern territory. Thus, the present study sets as objectives the identification of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and the evaluation of the argan tree’s roots’ mycorrhization level in two stations: one in the region of Béni Snassène (Berkane): Jebel Takermine with 7 prospected sites and the other at Jebel Aklim Alkabir with 2 sites. At the first station (Jebel Takermine), the mycorrhizal frequency of Argania spinosa roots varied between 64% and 100% with the root mycorrhizal intensity in the range of 30.77% and 66%. The arbuscular contents are higher at sites 2 (50.46%), 4 (50.33%), 7 (39.44%) and 1 (30.5%) against 18% and 20% at sites 6, 5 and 3. Argan trees from Jbel Aklim Alkbir, exhibited a high mycorrhization frequency and intensity ranging from 88% to 100% and between 39.4% and 73.4% respectively. Regarding arbuscular and vesicular rates, the highest values were associated to the roots of site 1 with 59.3% and 29.4% respectively compared to the lowest rates of 20% and 14% in those of site 2. Spore densities in the rhizosphere of the studied argan trees in the two stations were in the range of 78 and 697 spores/100 g of soil. The identification of isolated mycorrhizal spores revealed the presence of 28 species encompassing 7 genera: Acaulospora, Dentiscutata Claroideoglomus, Funneliformis, Glomus, Rhizophagus, Pacispora, and 5 Families: Glomeraceae (7 species), Acaulosporaceae (10 species), Pacisporaceae (2 species), Claroideoglomeraceae (2 species), Gigasporaceae (1 species).