SCREENING OF SELECTED NATIVE ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI AT DIFFERENT LEVELS FOR THEIR SYMBIOTIC EFFICIENCY WITH TECTONA GRANDIS SEEDLINGS

A study was conducted to find efficacy of three native species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on growth and seedling quality of Tectona grandis. The native AMF species (Funelliformis mosseae, Glomus intradices and Glomus proliferum) at different levels (10, 20 and 50 g inoculum per seedling) were applied to the seedlings raised in polythene bags. Inoculated seedlings showed a significant difference in plant growth and quality when compared to the uninoculated seedlings. Though, the growth and quality enhancement differed among AMF species and levels of inoculation, generally, mycorrhizal symbiosis significantly improved seedling growth. Mycorrhizal colonisation of seedlings roots ranged from 15.0 to 36.0%. The physiological parameters also showed improvement with AMF inoculation. The mycorrhizal efficiency index (MEI) of seedlings inoculated with G. proliferum (50 g inoculum) was 89.23%. Root colonisation was found to range from 17.33 to 33.33% and from 22.67 to 56.33% when 50 g and 10 g of inoculums were used. The result showed that G. proliferum (50 g of inoculums) at the time of transplanting showed maximum growth and seedling quality benefits in nursery as compared to all other fungi used for T. grandis. The technology has potential to reduce the nursery period and increase quality of seedlings produced, resulting in considerable economic gains.