Diversity and Abundance of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Under Different Plant and Soil Properties in Sidama, Southern Ethiopia

Beyene Dobo; Fassil Asefa; Zebene Asfaw

doi:doi:10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11

| Peer-Reviewed

Diversity and Abundance of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Under Different Plant and Soil Properties in Sidama, Southern Ethiopia

Beyene Dobo, Fassil Asefa, Zebene Asfaw

Published in Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering (Volume 4, Issue 3)

Received: 13 June 2016 Accepted: 1 July 2016 Published: 21 July 2016

Views: Downloads:

Download PDF

Share This Article

Twitter
Linked In
Facebook

Abstract

In Sidama, agroforestry represents land-use systems with deliberate management of multipurpose trees and shrubs that grow in intimate association with annual and perennial agricultural crops and/or livestock. The interaction of microbiota with the trees, shrubs and crops make the system fertile, productive and sustainable. One of the beneficial microbiota which has symbiotic association with most of the plants in agroforestry is arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). In November and December of 2012, root and rhizosphere soil samples of 21 plant species from nine peasant associations (PAs)(villages within districts where 300-500 families live) were collected from the agroforestry practices in Sidama of Southern Ethiopia for the determination of diversity and abundance of AMF under selected soil parameters and plant species density. Findings on the diversity of AMF based on soil properties showed that at moderate to low P and N concentrations the rate of AMF root colonization and spore density was high in comparison with the rhizosphere soils with the highest P and N concentration. The highest percentage of total AMF colonization was recorded for shade trees Millettia ferruginea (84%) and Erythrina brucei (80%) followed by intercropped perennial crops Ensete ventricosum (86%), Catha edulis (85%) and Coffea arabica (80%) and the lowest percentage AMF colonization was recorded for Rhamnus prinoides (53%) and Colocasia esculenta (52%). Though found in almost all homegarden agroforestry practices and with broad coverage in Sidama agroforestry, some crops and vegetables such Brassica integrifolia and Cucurbita pepo, grown intercropped were found to be non-mycorrrhizal as none of the AMF structures were recorded. The highest number of AM spore population was recorded in rhizosphere soils of Croton macrostachyus (1066±19.33) and Catha edulis (1054±53.12) and the lowest spore density was recorded for Dioscorea alata (100.00±2.89) spore per 100 g of dry soil. The percentage fungal colonization in any individual plant species and spore population in the rhizosphere soils of that species did not correlate to each other and percentage AM root colonization and spore density of all plants in the agroforestry of Sidama were found significantly different at P<0.05 level.

Published in	Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering (Volume 4, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11
Page(s)	16-24
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2016. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

AMF, Rhizosphere, Parameters, Colonization, Density

References

[1]	Allsopp, N. and Stock W. F. (1992). Density dependent interactions between VA mycorrhizal fungi and even-aged seedlings of two perennial Fabaceae species. Oecologia, 91, 281-287. doi: 10.1007/BF00317797.
[2]	Black, C., Evans, A. D., White, J. L., Ensminger, L. E. and Clark, F. E. (1965). Methods of Soil Analysis Part 1. Physical and Mineralogical Properties Including Statistics of Measurement and Sampling, American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wis, USA.
[3]	Blaszkowski, J. (1989). The occurrence of the Endogonaceae in Poland. Agril. Ecosy. Envin., 29: 45-50.
[4]	Bolan, N. S., Robson, A. D. and Barrow, N. J. (1987). Effects of vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhiza on the availability of iron phosphates to plants. Plant Soil 99: 401-410.
[5]	Bremner, J. M. and Mulvaney, S. C. (1982). “Nitrogen-Total,” in Methods of Soil Analysis, A. L. Page, Eds., vol. 2, pp. 595–624, American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wis, USA.
[6]	da Silva Sousa, C., Cezar Menezes, R. S., de Sá Barreto Sampaio, E. V., de Sousa Lima, F. and Costa Maia, L. (2013). Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi within agroforestry and traditional land use systems in semi-arid Northeast Brazil. Acta Scient. Agron., 35: 307-314.
[7]	Dalpe, Y., Plenchette, C. and Gueye, M. (2000). Glomales species associated with surface and deep rhizosphere of Faidherbia albida in Senegal. Mycorrhiza, 10, 125-129.
[8]	Demir, S., Kaya, I., Şavur, O. B. and Özkan, O. U. (2008). Determination of Arbuscular-Mycorhizal Fungus (AMF) from the Plants Belonging to Gramineae Family in Van Province, Yüzüncü Yıl University, Faculty of Agriculture, J. Agric. Sci., 18 (2): 103-111.
[9]	Diaz, G. and Honrubia, M. (1994). A mycorrhizal survey of plants growing on mine wastes in Southern Spain. Arid Soil Res. Rehabilitation, 8: 59- 68.
[10]	Emiru, Birhanea, Thomas, W. K., Frank, J. S. and Frans, B. (2010). Arbuscular mycorrhizal associations in Boswellia papyrifera (frankincense-tree) dominated dry deciduous woodlands of Northern Ethiopia. Forest Ecology and Management, 260: 2160–2169.
[11]	Eissenstat, D. M. and Newman, E. I. (1990). Seedling establishment near large plants: effects of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizas on the intensity of plant competition. Funct Ecol., 4, 95-99.
[12]	Fisher, R. A. and Yates, F. (1970). In Statistical tables for biological, agriculture and medical research. 6th ed. Davien: Hafner.
[13]	Gerdemann, J. W. and Nicolson, T. H. (1963). Spores of mycorrhizal Endogone species extracted from soil by wet sieving and decanting. Transactions of the British Mycological Society, 46, 235-244.
[14]	Gerdemann, J. W. and Trappe, M. J. (1974). The Endogonaceae in the Pacific Northwest. Mycologia Memoir, No. 5. The New York Botanical Garden, New York. Pp 76.
[15]	Giovannetti, M and Nicolson, H. T. (1983). Vesicular–arbuscular Mycorrhizas in Italian sand dunes. Trans. Br. Mycol. Soc., 80: 552-555.
[16]	Jasper, D. A. (1992). Management of mycorrhizas in revegetation. In: Robson, A. D.; L. K. Abbott and N. Malajczuk (eds.), Proceedings of International Symposium on Management of Mycorrhizas in Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry.
[17]	Jefwa, J. M., Sinclair, R. and Maghembe, J. A. (2006). Diversity of glomale mycorrhizal fungi in maize/sesbania intercrops and maize monocrop systems in Southern Malawi, Agroforestry systems, 67: 107-114.
[18]	Jones, B. J. J. (2001). Laboratory Guide for Conducting Soil Tests and Plant Analysis, CRC press, LLC.
[19]	Li, X. L., Marschnerm, H. and George, E. (199). Extension of the phosphorus depletion zone in VA mycorrhizal white clover in a calcareous soil. Plant and Soil, Vol: 135, p: 41-48.
[20]	Koide, R. T. and Dickie, I. A. (2002). Effects of mycorrhizal fungi on plants populations. Plant Soil 244, 307-317. doi: 10.1023/A:1020204004844.
[21]	Louis, L. and Lim G. 1987. Spore density and root colonization of vesicular–arbuscular Mycorrhizas in tropical soil. Trans. Br. Mycol. Soc., 88: 207-212.
[22]	Mahmud, R. M., Mridha, U. A., Osman, T. K., Xu, L. H. and Umemura, H. (1999). Relationship between edaphic factors and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in soils of rubber plantation. The 207^th Annual Meeting of Japanese Society of Crop Science, April 2-3, 1999, Tokyo. Jap. J. Crop Sci., 68 (Extra 1): 244-245.
[23]	Mehrotra, V. S. 1998. Arbuscular mycorrhizal association of plants colonizing coal mine spoils in India. J. Agril. Sci., Cambridge. 130: 123-133.
[24]	Millat-e-Mustafa, M. (1997). Tropical Homegardens: An overview. In: Alam, M. K., F. U. Ahmed and A. M. Ruhul Amin (eds.), Agroforestry: Bangladesh Perspective, BARC. Pp 18-33.
[25]	Olsen, S. R. and Dean L. A. (1965). “Phosphorous,” in Methods of Soil Analysis Part 2: Chemical and Microbiological Properties, C. A. Black, Ed., vol. 9, pp. 1035–1049, American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wis, USA.
[26]	Ortaş, İ. 2002. Do Plants depend on mycorrhizae in terms of nutrient requirement?, International conference on sustainable land use and management. Çanakkale.
[27]	Phillips, J. M. and Hayman D. S. (1970). Improved procedures for clearing roots and staining parasitic and vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for rapid assessment of infection. Trans. Br. Mycol. Soc., 55: 158–161.
[28]	Power M. E. and Mills L. S. (1995). The keystone cops meet in Hilo. Tree 10, 182-184.
[29]	Raintree, J. B. (1997). Agroforestry concepts. In: Alam, M. K.; F. U. Ahmed and A. M. Ruhul Amin (eds.), Agroforestry: Bangladesh Perspective, BARC. Pp 1-17.
[30]	Rhodes, L. H. (1980). The use of mycorrhizae in crop production systems. Outlook on Agriculture, 10 (6): 275 - 281.
[31]	Roy, I. (1997). Cropland Agroforestry: The experience of the village and farm forestry programme. In: Alam, M. K.; F. U. Ahmed and A. M. Ruhul Amin (eds.), Agroforestry: Bangladesh Perspective, BARC. pp. 98-11.
[32]	Schenck, N. C. and Pérez, Y. (1990). Manual for the Identification of VA Mycorrhizal Fungi. Synergistic-Publications, Gainesville, Florida.
[33]	Schnitzer, M. 1982. “Total carbon, organic matter and carbon,” in Methods of Soil Analysis-Part 2, Agronomy Monograph, A. L. Page, R. H. Miller, and D. R. Keeney, Eds., vol. 9, pp. 539- 577, American Society of Agronomy, Madison, Wis, USA, 2^nd edition.
[34]	Sieverding, E. 1991. Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza management in tropical agro systems. German Technical cooperation (GTZ) Eschborn, pp 371. ISBN 3 88085 462 9.
[35]	Smith, S. E. and Read, D. J. (1997). Mycorrhizal symbiosis, 2^nd edn. Academic Press, London, U. K.
[36]	Snoeck, D., Abolo, D. and Jagoret, P. (2010). Temporal changes in VAM fungi in the cocoa agroforestry systems of central Cameroon. Agroforestry Syst., 78: 323–328.
[37]	Talukdar, N. C. and Germida, J. J. (1993). Occurrence and isolation of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae in cropped field soils of Saskatchewan. Can. J. Microbial., 39: 576-586.
[38]	Verbruggen, E. and Toby Kiers, E. (2010). Evolutionary ecology of mycorrhizal functional diversity in agricultural systems. Evolutionary Appl., 3: 547–560.
[39]	Wang, F. Y., Liu, R. J. and Lin, X. G. (2004). Arbuscular mycorrhizal status of wild plants in salin-alkaline soils of the yellow river delta. Mycorrhiza, 14, 133–137.
[40]	Zebene Asfaw, (2003). Tree species diversity, Top soil conditions and Arbuscular mycorrhizal Association in the Sidama Traditional agroforestry land use, southern Ethiopia, Doctorial Thesis Department of Forest management and products, SLU. Acta Universitatis Sueciae. Silverstria, p. 263.
[41]	Zerihun Belay, Fassil Asefa, and Mauritz V. (2013). Diversity and abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with acacia trees from different land use systems in Ethiopia. African Journal of Microbial Research, 7 (48), pp. 550.

Cite This Article

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Beyene Dobo, Fassil Asefa, Zebene Asfaw. (2016). Diversity and Abundance of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Under Different Plant and Soil Properties in Sidama, Southern Ethiopia. Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering, 4(3), 16-24. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Beyene Dobo; Fassil Asefa; Zebene Asfaw. Diversity and Abundance of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Under Different Plant and Soil Properties in Sidama, Southern Ethiopia. Adv. BioSci. Bioeng. 2016, 4(3), 16-24. doi: 10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Beyene Dobo, Fassil Asefa, Zebene Asfaw. Diversity and Abundance of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Under Different Plant and Soil Properties in Sidama, Southern Ethiopia. Adv BioSci Bioeng. 2016;4(3):16-24. doi: 10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11,
  author = {Beyene Dobo and Fassil Asefa and Zebene Asfaw},
  title = {Diversity and Abundance of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Under Different Plant and Soil Properties in Sidama, Southern Ethiopia},
  journal = {Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering},
  volume = {4},
  number = {3},
  pages = {16-24},
  doi = {10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.abb.20160403.11},
  abstract = {In Sidama, agroforestry represents land-use systems with deliberate management of multipurpose trees and shrubs that grow in intimate association with annual and perennial agricultural crops and/or livestock. The interaction of microbiota with the trees, shrubs and crops make the system fertile, productive and sustainable. One of the beneficial microbiota which has symbiotic association with most of the plants in agroforestry is arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). In November and December of 2012, root and rhizosphere soil samples of 21 plant species from nine peasant associations (PAs)(villages within districts where 300-500 families live) were collected from the agroforestry practices in Sidama of Southern Ethiopia for the determination of diversity and abundance of AMF under selected soil parameters and plant species density. Findings on the diversity of AMF based on soil properties showed that at moderate to low P and N concentrations the rate of AMF root colonization and spore density was high in comparison with the rhizosphere soils with the highest P and N concentration. The highest percentage of total AMF colonization was recorded for shade trees Millettia ferruginea (84%) and Erythrina brucei (80%) followed by intercropped perennial crops Ensete ventricosum (86%), Catha edulis (85%) and Coffea arabica (80%) and the lowest percentage AMF colonization was recorded for Rhamnus prinoides (53%) and Colocasia esculenta (52%). Though found in almost all homegarden agroforestry practices and with broad coverage in Sidama agroforestry, some crops and vegetables such Brassica integrifolia and Cucurbita pepo, grown intercropped were found to be non-mycorrrhizal as none of the AMF structures were recorded. The highest number of AM spore population was recorded in rhizosphere soils of Croton macrostachyus (1066±19.33) and Catha edulis (1054±53.12) and the lowest spore density was recorded for Dioscorea alata (100.00±2.89) spore per 100 g of dry soil. The percentage fungal colonization in any individual plant species and spore population in the rhizosphere soils of that species did not correlate to each other and percentage AM root colonization and spore density of all plants in the agroforestry of Sidama were found significantly different at P<0.05 level.},
 year = {2016}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Diversity and Abundance of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Under Different Plant and Soil Properties in Sidama, Southern Ethiopia
AU  - Beyene Dobo
AU  - Fassil Asefa
AU  - Zebene Asfaw
Y1  - 2016/07/21
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11
T2  - Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering
JF  - Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering
JO  - Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering
SP  - 16
EP  - 24
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-4162
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11
AB  - In Sidama, agroforestry represents land-use systems with deliberate management of multipurpose trees and shrubs that grow in intimate association with annual and perennial agricultural crops and/or livestock. The interaction of microbiota with the trees, shrubs and crops make the system fertile, productive and sustainable. One of the beneficial microbiota which has symbiotic association with most of the plants in agroforestry is arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). In November and December of 2012, root and rhizosphere soil samples of 21 plant species from nine peasant associations (PAs)(villages within districts where 300-500 families live) were collected from the agroforestry practices in Sidama of Southern Ethiopia for the determination of diversity and abundance of AMF under selected soil parameters and plant species density. Findings on the diversity of AMF based on soil properties showed that at moderate to low P and N concentrations the rate of AMF root colonization and spore density was high in comparison with the rhizosphere soils with the highest P and N concentration. The highest percentage of total AMF colonization was recorded for shade trees Millettia ferruginea (84%) and Erythrina brucei (80%) followed by intercropped perennial crops Ensete ventricosum (86%), Catha edulis (85%) and Coffea arabica (80%) and the lowest percentage AMF colonization was recorded for Rhamnus prinoides (53%) and Colocasia esculenta (52%). Though found in almost all homegarden agroforestry practices and with broad coverage in Sidama agroforestry, some crops and vegetables such Brassica integrifolia and Cucurbita pepo, grown intercropped were found to be non-mycorrrhizal as none of the AMF structures were recorded. The highest number of AM spore population was recorded in rhizosphere soils of Croton macrostachyus (1066±19.33) and Catha edulis (1054±53.12) and the lowest spore density was recorded for Dioscorea alata (100.00±2.89) spore per 100 g of dry soil. The percentage fungal colonization in any individual plant species and spore population in the rhizosphere soils of that species did not correlate to each other and percentage AM root colonization and spore density of all plants in the agroforestry of Sidama were found significantly different at P<0.05 level.
VL  - 4
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download

Author Information

Beyene Dobo

Department of Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences, Haramaya University, Haramaya, Ethiopia
Fassil Asefa

Department of Microbial, Cellular and Molecular Biology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Zebene Asfaw

Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia

Download PDF

Sections

Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Beyene Dobo, Fassil Asefa, Zebene Asfaw. (2016). Diversity and Abundance of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Under Different Plant and Soil Properties in Sidama, Southern Ethiopia. Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering, 4(3), 16-24. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11

Copy | Download

ACS Style

Beyene Dobo; Fassil Asefa; Zebene Asfaw. Diversity and Abundance of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Under Different Plant and Soil Properties in Sidama, Southern Ethiopia. Adv. BioSci. Bioeng. 2016, 4(3), 16-24. doi: 10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Beyene Dobo, Fassil Asefa, Zebene Asfaw. Diversity and Abundance of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Under Different Plant and Soil Properties in Sidama, Southern Ethiopia. Adv BioSci Bioeng. 2016;4(3):16-24. doi: 10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11,
  author = {Beyene Dobo and Fassil Asefa and Zebene Asfaw},
  title = {Diversity and Abundance of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Under Different Plant and Soil Properties in Sidama, Southern Ethiopia},
  journal = {Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering},
  volume = {4},
  number = {3},
  pages = {16-24},
  doi = {10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.abb.20160403.11},
  abstract = {In Sidama, agroforestry represents land-use systems with deliberate management of multipurpose trees and shrubs that grow in intimate association with annual and perennial agricultural crops and/or livestock. The interaction of microbiota with the trees, shrubs and crops make the system fertile, productive and sustainable. One of the beneficial microbiota which has symbiotic association with most of the plants in agroforestry is arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). In November and December of 2012, root and rhizosphere soil samples of 21 plant species from nine peasant associations (PAs)(villages within districts where 300-500 families live) were collected from the agroforestry practices in Sidama of Southern Ethiopia for the determination of diversity and abundance of AMF under selected soil parameters and plant species density. Findings on the diversity of AMF based on soil properties showed that at moderate to low P and N concentrations the rate of AMF root colonization and spore density was high in comparison with the rhizosphere soils with the highest P and N concentration. The highest percentage of total AMF colonization was recorded for shade trees Millettia ferruginea (84%) and Erythrina brucei (80%) followed by intercropped perennial crops Ensete ventricosum (86%), Catha edulis (85%) and Coffea arabica (80%) and the lowest percentage AMF colonization was recorded for Rhamnus prinoides (53%) and Colocasia esculenta (52%). Though found in almost all homegarden agroforestry practices and with broad coverage in Sidama agroforestry, some crops and vegetables such Brassica integrifolia and Cucurbita pepo, grown intercropped were found to be non-mycorrrhizal as none of the AMF structures were recorded. The highest number of AM spore population was recorded in rhizosphere soils of Croton macrostachyus (1066±19.33) and Catha edulis (1054±53.12) and the lowest spore density was recorded for Dioscorea alata (100.00±2.89) spore per 100 g of dry soil. The percentage fungal colonization in any individual plant species and spore population in the rhizosphere soils of that species did not correlate to each other and percentage AM root colonization and spore density of all plants in the agroforestry of Sidama were found significantly different at P<0.05 level.},
 year = {2016}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Diversity and Abundance of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Under Different Plant and Soil Properties in Sidama, Southern Ethiopia
AU  - Beyene Dobo
AU  - Fassil Asefa
AU  - Zebene Asfaw
Y1  - 2016/07/21
PY  - 2016
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11
T2  - Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering
JF  - Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering
JO  - Advances in Bioscience and Bioengineering
SP  - 16
EP  - 24
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-4162
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.abb.20160403.11
AB  - In Sidama, agroforestry represents land-use systems with deliberate management of multipurpose trees and shrubs that grow in intimate association with annual and perennial agricultural crops and/or livestock. The interaction of microbiota with the trees, shrubs and crops make the system fertile, productive and sustainable. One of the beneficial microbiota which has symbiotic association with most of the plants in agroforestry is arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). In November and December of 2012, root and rhizosphere soil samples of 21 plant species from nine peasant associations (PAs)(villages within districts where 300-500 families live) were collected from the agroforestry practices in Sidama of Southern Ethiopia for the determination of diversity and abundance of AMF under selected soil parameters and plant species density. Findings on the diversity of AMF based on soil properties showed that at moderate to low P and N concentrations the rate of AMF root colonization and spore density was high in comparison with the rhizosphere soils with the highest P and N concentration. The highest percentage of total AMF colonization was recorded for shade trees Millettia ferruginea (84%) and Erythrina brucei (80%) followed by intercropped perennial crops Ensete ventricosum (86%), Catha edulis (85%) and Coffea arabica (80%) and the lowest percentage AMF colonization was recorded for Rhamnus prinoides (53%) and Colocasia esculenta (52%). Though found in almost all homegarden agroforestry practices and with broad coverage in Sidama agroforestry, some crops and vegetables such Brassica integrifolia and Cucurbita pepo, grown intercropped were found to be non-mycorrrhizal as none of the AMF structures were recorded. The highest number of AM spore population was recorded in rhizosphere soils of Croton macrostachyus (1066±19.33) and Catha edulis (1054±53.12) and the lowest spore density was recorded for Dioscorea alata (100.00±2.89) spore per 100 g of dry soil. The percentage fungal colonization in any individual plant species and spore population in the rhizosphere soils of that species did not correlate to each other and percentage AM root colonization and spore density of all plants in the agroforestry of Sidama were found significantly different at P<0.05 level.
VL  - 4
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download