Occurrence of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Rhizosphere of Jatropha curcas L. in Arid and Semi Arid Regions of India

Abstract

A study was conducted to identify common arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi present in rhizosphere of Jatropha curcas L., an important bio-diesel crop, from different arid and semi arid regions of India viz., Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Hissar (Haryana), Jhansi and Lalitpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh). A total of 20 AM species were recorded, which consisted of two species of Acaulospora and 18 species of Glomus. The highest frequency of occurrence was recorded for Glomus intraradix (100%), followed by Acaulospora scrobiculata (83%), G. etunicatum (50%) and Glomus 1 (50%). Maximum species richness was recorded at Jodhpur, followed by Jhansi, Hissar, Hyderabad and Lalitpur. The results seem to suggest that species richness was more in arid regions as compared to semi arid areas.Keywords Acaulospora Á Arid and semi arid regions Á Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi Á Glomus Á Jatropha curcas Inoculations of Jatropha curcas L., which is gaining importance as bio-diesel plant, with bio-fertilizers including arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi have been shown to significantly increase the plant growth and yields under variable conditions. Morphological and biochemical contents of Jatropha plants have been reported to increase significantly after combined microbial inoculations with Azospirillum, Azotobacter, phosphate solubilising bacteria and AM fungi under tropical conditions of Tamil Nadu [1].Early flowering and fruiting in J. curcas has been reported after inoculation of plants with microbial formulations [2].Above-mentioned information is mostly based on commercial formulations involving unidentified AM species and other bio-fertilizers. Studies on effect of inoculation of purified AM cultures, isolated from diverse conditions, on growth of J. curcas could be helpful in realization of full potential of these fungi as bio-fertilizers, as it has been done in many other plant species [3]. To begin with, efforts were made in present study to identify common AM fungi present in rhizosphere of J. curcas from different arid and semi arid regions of India viz., Hissar (Haryana), Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Jhansi and Lalitpur (Uttar Pradesh). Pantnagar (Uttaranchal) was also included in this study as occurrence of J. curcas in lower hills is quiet common.The study was conducted at National Research Centre for Agroforestry, Jhansi (24°11 0 N latitude and 78°17 0 E longitudes), Uttar Pradesh, India. A total of 30 samples of rhizosphere soil were collected from above mentioned locations, five from each location during [2007][2008]. Trap cultures were set by mixing different soil samples with autoclaved coarse sand in 1:1 ratio (v/v), separately. The mixture was transferred to 15 cm plastic pots, which were seeded with maize and black-gram and were maintained in green house. After 3-4 months, spore/sporocarps were isolated from the substrate taken from the trap cultures according to the method of Geredmann and Nicolson [4]. AM species were identified by using the keys of Schenck and Perez [5]....

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Colonization of Jatropha curcas Roots and Its Impact on Growth and Survival under Greenhouse-Induced Hydric Stress

“…Members of the Euphorbiaceae family are recognized for their propensity to form mycorrhizal symbioses [59][60][61][62][63]. In the present study, a diverse assemblage of 28 AMF species spanning 10 distinct genera were successfully identified, with the dominance of Acaulospora (12 species), Scutellospora (5 species), and Glomus (3 species).…”

The effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculations and cotyledon removal on early seedling growth of Pongamia pinnata

“…Further, AMF showed good adaptations to the light-colored base-rich soils of Jodhpur (pH: 8.1) and Hissar (pH: 8.4). Recently, we recorded good AMF diversity in aridisol at Jodhpur and entisol at Hissar from the rhizosphere of Jatropha curcas (Kamalvanshi et al, 2012). Fewer AMF species was isolated from mollisol at Pantnagar, which could be due to the higher level of P present in the soil.…”

Diversity and structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal commmunities and their chemical drivers across dryland habitats in Qatar

“…Moreover, species from the genera Acaulospora and Archeospora were mostly found Qatar University (QU) field 2, an area with scattered shrubs within close proximity to a road. The infrequent occurrence of the genera Acaulospora and Archeospora could imply scarcity of these genera in highly arid regions, which are often restricted in resources (Kamalvanshi et al, 2012;Zerihun et al, 2013).…”

“…Due to the adverse conditions in dryland habitats, the extent of mycorrhizal colonization and diversity of soil fungi driven by such ecosystems may be important. Drylands are known to host a large variety of endemic species, including fungal species that exhibit unique adaptations to the harsh conditions presented by drylands (Kamalvanshi et al, 2012;Laban et al, 2018;Neilson et al, 2017;Xu et al, 2018).…”