Inoculation of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) with Glomus versiforme under field conditions

Abstract

The effect of preceding crops (wheat, chickpea, fallow), on the response of sorghum to inoculation with Glomus versiforme was assessed under field conditions in a phosphorus-deficient sandy loam. Wheat and chickpea increased the number of propagules of indigenous VAM fungi 3-5-fold compared with fallow soil. Inoculation with G. versiforme in fallow soil increased the level of infection in roots compared with the control. However, a similar effect of inoculation, when wheat and chickpea were the preceding crops, was not observed. Inoculation with G. versiforme increased sorghum growth by 10, 28 and 29% under wheat-, fallow-, and chickpea-sorghum rotations, respectively. This also resulted in 15-47% increase in the uptake of phosphorus. The largest increases in shoot dry weight (39%) and in uptake of phosphorus (54%) were, however, obtained by application of single superphosphate (60 kg P2O5 ha-1)