Effect of Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Fungi Inoculation on Growth and Uptake of Mineral Nutrition in Ipomoea aquatica

Abstract

A green house experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of arbuscular mycorrhiza inoculation on plant growth and uptake of mineral nutrition in Ipomoea aquatica considering the objective of using environmental friendly biofertilizer instead of chemical fertilizer. A common leafy vegetable plant Ipomoea aquatica was grown with mycorrhiza and without mycorrhiza for 42 days. After harvest the plants were analyzed for mineral nutrition concentration. Plant fresh weight, dry weight, macronutrient (P, K, Mg, Na), micronutrient (Fe, Mn, Zn) concentration was higher in arbuscular mycorrhiza inoculated plant than non-mycorrhiza inoculated plant. For sustainable agriculture, introducing biofertilizer by using arbuscular mycorrhiza inoculation would be one of the most efficient techniques for replacing chemical fertilizer to meet the nutrient deficiency in nutrient deficient soils of Bangladesh.