Effectiveness of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Isolates on Arabica Coffee (<i>Coffea arabica</i>L.)

Abstract

ABSTRACT A glasshouse investigation was conducted to study the effectiveness of eight arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal isolates on Coffea arabica, Sln. 5. Coffee seedlings raised in the presence of AM fungi in polythene bags generally showed an increase in plant growth (height, number of leaves, leaf area and biomass) and plant nutritional status (P and Zn) over those grown in the absence of soil inoculation with AM fungi. The extent of growth and nutritional status enhanced by AM fungi varied with the isolates of AM fungi inhabiting the roots of coffee seedlings. Of the eight isolates, Gigaspora margarita and Acaulospora laevis were the best AM symbionts for arabica coffee compared with the others used under this experiment.