Effectiveness of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) Inoculation on the Growth of Perilla

To evaluate the effectiveness of AMF on the growth of horticultural crops, we compared mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants, perilla (P. frutescens Britt.), that were inoculated with AMF propagules. In the early stages of growth of perilla, compared to the AMF- perilla seedlings, in AMF+ perilla seedlings at 3 weeks after sowing, leaf length and width increased 17% and 29%, leaf area increased 28%, and shoot fresh weight increased 33%, root total length increased 1%, and chlorophyll content increased 3%. Further at 10 weeks after sowing, compared to the AMF- perilla plants, in perilla plants inoculated with AMF at the sowing and transplanting stages, leaf area increased 21% and 19%, shoot length increased 19% and 17%, root fresh weight increased 17% and 20%, and chlorophyll content increased 5.1% and 4.8%, respectively. Moreover, at 14 weeks after sowing, compared to the AMF- perilla plants, in perilla plants inoculated with AMF at the sowing and transplanting stages, the number of leaves increased 16% and 20%, root fresh weight increased 16% and 17% significantly. Further, leaf fresh weight increased 9% and 11%, shoot diameter increased 4.5% and 7.3%, and chlorophyll content increased 1.5% and 2.5%, respectively. The levels of many macronutrients and micronutrients were tended to be significantly higher in AMF+ plants than in AMF- plants, supporting the association between AMF and enhanced growth of plants grown from AMF+ seedlings.