Abstract:
The raising claim for more environmental and healthy agriculture is a strong intensive to
find an alternative strategy to replace the use of mineral fertilizer and pesticides.
Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (VAM) a main soil microbiota represents a promising
tool as a provider of key ecological services symbiotically associated with higher plant
roots. It enhances nutrient uptake, tolerant to drought, toxic heavy metal, and nematode
infection. Maize as host plant tested for root infection and spore count. This study was
undertaken to find the occurrence and distribution of VAM colonization in rhizosphere
soil and roots of maize (Zea mays). The fungi propagules were observed from root cortex
cells by staining with a cotton blue stain. Also, spores of Glomus, Gigaspora,
and Acaulospora species were isolated from rhizosphere soil by wet sieving with sucrose
centrifuge technique. Sample soil characteristics such as electric conductivity (EC), pH,
soil moisture, and texture were analysed. All tested plants are associated with VAM fungi
and the number of VAM fungal spores from soils ranged from 09 to 119 per 100g of soil
and infection varied from 20% to 93% there were significant differences in VAM
colonization between plants sample. Spore number and root infection were negatively
correlated in plants indicating that a low level of spore density is associated with high root
colonization. In soil properties, EC and sand have a positive correlation whereas clay
shows a negative correlation.
Keywords: Vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza, Isolation, Spores, Morphological
identification, Maize
