Influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on growth, mineral composition and production of essential oil in Mentha × piperita L. var. citrata (Ehrh.) Briq. under two phosphorus levels

Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), Acaulospora morrowiae, Rhizophagus clarus and Scutellospora calospora on the growth and essential oil production of Mentha × piperita L. var. citrata plants. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse with a 5 × 2 factorial design with five mycorrhizal treatments (uninoculated control, Acaulospora morrowiae, Rhizophagus clarus and Scutellospora calospora, and mixture of inocula) and two P levels (60 and 120 mg P dm -3 soil) with six replicates. Plants were harvested after 75 days of growth for evaluation of dry biomass, mycorrhizal colonization of roots, number of spores in soil, nutrient content of leaves, and composition, content and yield of essential oil. The mycorrhizal treatments influenced all the characteristics evaluated, except the number of spores in soil. AMF colonization was most evident at the lowest dose of phosphate fertilizer applied, except for R. clarus, and in all treatments mycorrhizal colonization was above 45%. Colonization also influenced the nutrient content of the leaves of M. piperita var citrata and increased leaf dry biomass. The content and yield of essential oils were higher in plants colonized by AMF fungi with the 60 mg P fertilization dose, except those colonized by R. clarus which had higher essential oil production only with the 120 mg dm -3 P treatment. The two major components in the essential oils for the plants in all the treatments were linalool and linalyl acetate.Key words: Acaulospora, Rhizophagus, Scutellospora, linalool, linalyl acetate, phosphorus fertilization. INTRODUCTIONMentha x piperita L. var. citrata (Ehrh.) Briq. belongs to the Lamiaceae family and the main components of its essential oils are linalool and linalyl acetate (Garlet et al., 2013). The presence of these compounds increases economic interest in this species, since they are used in the perfumery, cosmetics, food, pharmaceutical, fragrances 1322 J. Med. Plants Res. and tobacco industries, mainly as a flavoring (Steffani et al., 2006;Garlet et al., 2013). From a plant biology perspective, these compounds are associated with defense against pathogens and herbivores, and with attraction of pollinators (Croteau et al., 2000). The roots of plants in this genus form symbiotic associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) that in addition to their provision of mutual growth benefits can also influence the production of active components of the essential oils of Mentha spp. (Volpin et al., 1994;Morais, 2009;Arango et al., 2012).The arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis has important ecological and biotechnological potential. Benefits are related to nutrient uptake from soils, especially those that have low mobility such as phosphorus, zinc and copper (Moreira and Siqueira, 2006). The improvement of host plant P nutrition has been recognized as one of the greatest benefits of mycorrhiza, but the results vary according to the level of P in the soil, with the species of AMF inoculated, and with plant species and/or ...

Impact of Phosphatic Nutrition on Growth Parameters and Artemisinin Production in Artemisia annua Plants Inoculated or Not with Funneliformis mosseae

“…These latter plants did not show any trace of arbuscules, suggesting limited exchanges between the two partners. Many studies report that a high P concentration in the culture medium inhibits the ability of the fungus to establish an efficient symbiosis with plant roots [72][73][74]. Moreover, as confirmed by the PCA, M32 and M96 plants (Figure 4, blue circle) were positively associated to mycorrhizal parameters and were well separated by the M288 plants (that clustered with C288 ones; Figure 4, green circle).…”

Effect of Bioinoculants on the Quality of Crops

“…No increment in essential oil and menthol content occurs at high P level. An enhancement of secondary metabolite production in Mentha piperita L. (peppermint) plants, inoculated with AMF in relation to nutrient availability and uptake, was reported also by Silva et al (2014) and by Arango et al (2012).…”

“…A number of studies demonstrate that the associations of PGPR and AMF with aromatic and officinal plants positively affect the quantitative and/or qualitative profile of the secondary metabolites (e.g., essential oils and alkaloids), in addition to improved growth parameters, biomass and yield (Khaosaad et al 2006;Copetta et al 2007;Banchio et al 2008;Arango et al 2012;Roshanpour et al 2014;Silva et al 2014).…”

Optimizing Phytochemical and Physiological Characteristics of Balangu (Lallemantia iberica) by Foliar Application of Chitosan Nanoparticles and Myco-Root Inoculation under Water Supply Restrictions

“…Mycorrhizal fungi can enhance water uptake through improvement of the root hydraulic conductivity through a larger surface area of the mycelium [28]. The symbiotic association between plant roots and fungi increases access to nutrients, especially those with low mobility, such as phosphorus, zinc and copper, over time [28][29][30]. More-over, it was reported that the inoculation of mycorrhizal fungi with host plants improves plant tolerance in the face of biotic and abiotic stresses through increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes, reducing chlorophyll decomposition rate and promoting chlorophyll synthesis [31,32].…”