Growth Response of Four Leguminous Trees to Native Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi from Tropical Forest in Indonesia

Abstract

Aims: To isolate and identify arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) from forest soils in Indonesia and to clarify their influence on the growth of four leguminous tree species. Study Design: Isolation of AMF from five forest soils in Indonesia and inoculation of five AMF to four leguminous trees under pot culture condition. Place and Duration of Study: Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Yamagata University, between 2015 to 2016. Methodology: Soils were collected from five forests in Indonesia. Paraserianthes falcataria, Calliandra calothyrsus, and Cassia siamea were grown on each soil for 90 days. Sixty-one spore morphotypes were collected from the soil and propagated using the respective tree species. Propagated spores were identified and used in the inoculation of P. falcataria, C. calothyrsus, C. siamea, and Sesbania grandiflora. Shoot fresh weight (SFW), root fresh weight, shoot P concentration, and AM colonization rate were measured 60 days after the inoculation. Mycorrhizal dependency (MD) was calculated on the basis of SFW. Results: Five isolates were identified: Diversispora gibbosa (M10-2), Acaulospora sp. (M11-1), Glomeraceae sp. (M44-3), Ambispora appendicula (M60-3), and Glomus sp. (S6-4). Mycorrhizal colonization ranged from 0% to 99%. SFW and shoot P content of the four leguminous trees inoculated with S6-4 were higher than those of trees inoculated with other AMF. The four leguminous trees inoculated with S6-4 showed higher MD than the trees inoculated with other AMF. P. falcataria and C. calothyrsus showed high MD upon inoculation with AMF. Conclusion: Colonization by native AMF differed by leguminous tree and growth response differed depending on the AMF isolate.