Inoculation of Canavalia ensiformis with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the establishment stage

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the forage yield and quality of Canavalia ensiformis in the establishment stage. Three AMF species and a control were evaluated, in a randomized block design with four treatments and three repetitions. The evaluated variables were: aerial dry biomass yield, efficiency index, crude protein, NPK extraction, colonization and visual density of the roots. The inoculation with AMF species surpassed the control in all the variables. The highest dry biomass yield values were found in Funneliformis mosseae/INCAM-2, and the lowest ones in the control, with significant differences at p [less than or equal to] 0,05 (8,30 and 4,35 t [ha.sup.-1], respectively). The extraction of N, [P.sub.2] [O.sub.5] and [K.sub.2] O reached values of 254,73; 32,26; 210,96 and 120,43; 15,03; 77,00 for F. mosseae /INCAM-2 and the control, respectively (p [less than or equal to] 0,05). F. mosseae/INCAM-2 and Glomus cubense/INCAM-4 showed the highest values of colonization and visual density, although the latter did not differ from Rhizoglomus intraradices/INCAM-11. It is concluded that the different inoculated AMF strains surpassed the control in the dry matter yield, crude protein and extraction of macronutrients from the soil, although the highest effectiveness in any of these variables was obtained with the inoculation of the strain F. mosseae /INCAM-2. Keywords: inoculation, crude protein, yield