Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal diversity in phosphorus-deficient Alfisols of a dry North-western agro-ecosystem of Tamil Nadu, India
2015
Cibichakravarthy, Balasubramanian | Kumutha, Karunanandham | Balachandar, Dananjeyan
Semi-arid tropical soils, characterized by low soil organic carbon (SOC) with limited available macronutrients and micronutrients for crop plants, are predicated to have a yield sustainability problem in the future due to intensive cropping and limited nutrient management adoptions. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), the functional link between plant and soil, play a pivotal role in nutrient cycling, organic matter stabilization and soil structure and fertility improvement. Hence, so far unexplored or underutilized, native AMF could be a potential resource for fertility management of these semi-arid tropical soils. Hence, in the present investigation, we assessed the abundance and diversity of AMF in phosphorus-deficient agricultural soils of semi-arid tropics of southern India. Our results show that the spore density and infective propagules of AMF were relatively low in these soils. The morpho-typing of extracted AMF spores revealed that these soils were dominated by glomeraceae (six species of Glomus) while species of Gigaspora, Scutellospora and Acaulospora were found in low abundance. The diversity indices assessed for the AMF species were also globally low. The non-metric multi-dimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis of species richness showed variation in the community composition of AMF in the soils. The principal component analysis of the assessed soil variables suggest that the available phosphorus (P), SOC and dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase activities had negative impact on spore density and infective propagules of AMF with no effect on species diversity. The regression analyses reveal that the available P is the significant soil variable that drives the AMF abundance and infectivity. This study opens the possibilities of effective utilization of native mycorrhizae for agriculture in semi-arid tropical soils.
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