Mycorrhizal Inoculation Effect on Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam) Seedlings

Abstract

Sweet potato is an increasingly significant crop and its effective and sustainable cultivation has become important in temperate countries. The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the effects of a mycorrhizal inoculum, Symbivit, and whether it could establish a symbiotic relationship with the seedlings of two sweet potato varieties (orange and purple). The effectiveness of the mycorrhizal inoculation with a sterilized substrate on the mycorrhizal parameters (F%, M%, m%, a%, A%) and physical parameters “[length of roots and shoots (cm), the fresh weight of shoots and roots (g) as well as the length of stem (cm)]” on the sweet potato seedlings has also been studied. Results show that the sterilization treatment with Symbivit in both varieties increased the frequency of mycorrhiza in the root system. For the intensity of the mycorrhizal colonization in the root fragments and the arbuscular abundance, there was a difference between the mycorrhizal inoculum and the sterilization treatment among the varieties. Overall, the preliminary results provided remarkable information about mycorrhizal inoculation, substrate sterilization on mycorrhizal development, as well as changes in the physical parameters between sweet potato seedlings. Our results could serve as a practical strategy for further research into adding significance to the effect of the beneficial soil microbes on sweet potatoes.

Interactive impact of potassium and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the root morphology and nutrient uptake of sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.)

“…Meanwhile, optimal K nutrient management strategy for sustainable and environmentally protective crop production was using KIUE genotypes in combination with appropriate soil fertilization ( Romheld and Kirkby, 2010 ). It is acknowledged that root architecture plays a fundamental role for water and nutrients uptake from soil and in turn, yield production ( Alhadidi et al, 2021 ; Caruso et al, 2021 ). Optimizing root morphology of sweet potato are effective methods guaranteeing yield production of sweet potato.…”

“…Previous studies have reported that soil and rhizosphere microbial activities are the major factors that determine the availability of nutrients to plants and consequently have significant influences on root growth and plant productivity ( Wang et al, 2017 ). Recent evidence suggests that fertilization optimization and microbial inoculation were effective tools for sweet potato cultivation ( Minemba et al, 2019 ; Alhadidi et al, 2021 ).…”

“…AMF varied in their ability to establish after inoculation, and in their effect on the yield and quality of sweet potato tubers ( Farmer et al, 2007 ). Recently, some beneficial effects of AMF on the performance of sweet potato were reported ( Tong et al, 2013 ; Yooyongwech et al, 2016 ; Alhadidi et al, 2021 ), such as water-deficit tolerance improvement, β-carotene concentration increase, root morphology regulation, and nutrient acquisition alternation. Therefore, the beneficial interaction of AMF with sweet potato is considered suitable for the cultivation of sweet potato.…”

“…To date, there is still no report on the effects of AMF inoculation on K uptake of sweet potato, and whether the benefits conferred by AMF on plants are related to K remains unknown. Given the importance of K and AMF to morphology optimization and nutrient uptake regulation of sweet potato ( Minemba et al, 2019 ; Alhadidi et al, 2021 ), the interaction exists between K and KIUE in sweet potato ( Wang et al, 2017 ); hence, a global understanding of the interactive impact of K and AMF on the tuberous root yield, root morphology, and nutrient uptake of different KIUE genotypes of sweet potato should be considered.…”

“…In this study, low KIUE genotype “N1” and high KIUE genotype “Xu28” were used as the experimental varieties of sweet potato based on our previous results ( Wang et al, 2015 , 2017 ); Funneliformis mosseae (FM) and Claroideoglomus etunicatum (CE) were used as the experimental AMF mainly considering the existing studies ( Gai et al, 2006 ; Alhadidi et al, 2021 ). In a pot experiment, the plants “N1” and “Xu28” were inoculated with FM or CE, and applied with or without K fertilizer to uncover the effects of K application and AMF inoculation on the root morphology and nutrient absorption of sweet potato during their growing period.…”