Symbiotic Response of Drought Tolerant Soybean Varieties, DSR 2 and DSR 12 to Different Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are known for symbiotic association with crop plants. A glasshouse experiment was conducted to screen and select the efficient AMF for inoculating two drought tolerant soybean varieties DSR 2 and DSR 12. Screening was done with 10 different species of AMF and plant parameters like plant height, stem diameter, biovolume index, total leaf area, dry biomass, P concentration, and mycorrhizal parameters like root colonization, spore number in the root zone soil were recorded according to the standard procedures. Based on the improved plant parameters viz., plant dry biomass, pod and seed yield, total leaf area and P uptake, it was concluded that Rhizophagus fasciculatus is the best AMF for inoculating DSR 2 variety and Ambispora leptoticha is the best for inoculating DSR 12 variety.