Studies on The Status of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi on The Fodder Crop Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench

Abstract

Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, commonly called maize grass, belongs to the family Poaceae. It is used as a fodder grass and is commercially cultivated in the Tiruchirappalli district of Tamil Nadu, South India. Four different localities of the Tiruchirappalli district were selected for the present investigation. The soil types of the four localities ranged from red sandy, red brown sandy to red brown sandy clay. Although the colonisation of Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (AM) in the roots of S. bicolor was positive in all the four study localities, the species of AM fungi colonising the roots varied. The percentage of root colonisation ranged from 52.0% to 94.5%. A total of 18 AM fungal species were isolated from the rhizosphere soils of the S. bicolor, of which only 4 were found to be colonised in the roots. The total spore counts varied between 122 and 582 per 100 gm of soil. Glomus aggregatum, G. etunicatum and Acaulospora bireticulata were the dominant forms and these 3 species showed 100% frequency in all the study areas.

Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, biasa dikenali sebagai maize grass adalah daripada Famili Poaceae. Ia digunakan sebagai makanan ternakan dan ditanam secara komersil di Daerah Tiruchirappalli di Tamil Nadu, Selatan India. Empat kawasan berbeza telah dipilih untuk kajian ini. Jenis tanah empat kawasan tersebut melingkungi red sandy, red brown sandy dan red brown sandy clay. Walaupun kolonisasi Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (AM) di akar S. bicolor adalah positif di keempat-empat kawasan kajian, spesies AM fungi yang berbeza mengkolonikan akar. Peratus kolonisasi akar ialah daripada 52.0% hingga 94.5%. Sebanyak 18 fungi AM telah diasingkan daripada tanah rhizosphere S. bicolor, yang mana hanya empat ditemui mengkoloni di akar. Bilangan spora terkumpul ialah 122 hingga 582 per 100 gm tanah. Glomus aggregatum, G. etunicatum dan Acaulospora bireticulata merupakan spesies dominan dan telah menunjukkan 100% frekuensi di kesemua tempat kajian.