A Preliminary Study on the Response of Confectionery Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) to Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF)

Abstract

This preliminary study was carried out to investigate the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on yield, seed characters and chlorophyll content of confectionery sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). The experiment was conducted at Tavas/Denizli in the 2018 growing season. The experimental design was "Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD)" with four replications. Seed coating and soil spraying of AMF applications were compared with control (non-treatment AMF). The differences among treatments were significant for plant height (cm), head diameter (cm), seed width (mm), single plant yield (g), thousand kernel weight (g), yield (kg ha -1 ), chlorophyll content index (CCI) and soil plant analysis development (SPAD) values. The seed coating had significant and higher values for plant height (cm), head diameter (cm), seed width (mm), single plant yield (g), thousand kernel weight (g), yield (kg ha -1 ), chlorophyll content index (CCI) and SPAD values, whereas hull ratio was found to be similar between AMF applications and control. It was concluded that seed coating with AMF can be profitable for confectionery sunflower producers due to increased yield and low cost. The results of this preliminary study should be supported by findings from multiple locations and years.