Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Status of Mango (Mangifera indica) Cultivars Grown in Typic Quartzipsamments Soil

The role of Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in improving plant health is well established. To understand the AMF status of mango cultivars in Typic Quartzipsamments soil, experiments were carried out in the mango orchard located at College of Agriculture, Padannakkad, Kerala Agricultural University. Five improved varieties and two hybrid varieties of mango were selected for AMF analysis. All the varieties selected for the study exhibited AMF root colonization, arbuscules and inter or intracellular vesicles. A total of ten AMF species belonging to five genera viz . Acaulospora, Gigaspora, Claroideoglomus, Glomus and Sclerocystis were isolated. Among the species identified, four species were of Glomus , two species of C laroideoglomus and Sclerocystis and one species each of Acaulospora and Gigaspora. The Simpson’s index, Shannon index and evenness ranged from 0.80 ± 0.020 to 85 ± 0.02; 1.89 ± 0.03 to 2.09 ± 0.06; 0.74 ± 0.02 to 0.84 ± 0.04, respectively. The spore count showed a significant negative correlation with percentage of root colonization. There was no correlation observed with soil phosphorus content. These results revealed that arbuscular mycorrhizas are an important constituent in mango orchard and the high spore density and root colonization were most likely a selective adaptation toward sandy loam soil. All the species or each one of the species appeared to be generalists in Indian soil.