Reciprocal influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus and root knot nematode and interaction effects on blackgram

Abstract

Experiments were conducted under glasshouse conditions to study the reciprocal influence of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Glomus fasciculatum and the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita and their interaction effects on the growth of blackgram. Prior inoculation of AMF increased significantly shoot and root growth and pod yield of blackgram, especially when applied 20 days before nematode inoculation, and suppressed root gall index and the nematode population in the soil, with earlier application of AMF resulting in greater suppression of the nematode. Inoculation of the nematode prior to AMF affected negatively root mycorrhizal colonization and spores in the soil with the suppressing effects being more pronounced when nematodes were inoculated 20 days prior to AMF. AMF treatments increased phosphorus content of shoots and roots of blackgram.