Summary: In a greenhouse experiment aimed at assessing the potential benefits of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) inoculation in overcoming salinity challenges and examining the influence of phosphorus (P) concentration on zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.) plant responses to AM, two groups were compared: AM-inoculated (+AM) and non-AM (−AM) plants. The plants were cultivated in sand culture under varying levels of salinity (1 and 35 mM NaCl) and P concentrations (0.3 and 1 mM P).
The results revealed that at a lower P concentration (0.3 mM), the reduction in marketable yield and shoot biomass caused by salinity was significantly lower compared to plants grown at a higher P concentration (1 mM). However, even at high P concentrations, the absolute values of yield and shoot biomass of +AM zucchini plants under saline conditions were higher than those grown at low P concentrations.
Furthermore, +AM plants under saline conditions exhibited higher leaf chlorophyll content and relative water content compared to −AM plants. Additionally, mycorrhizal zucchini plants grown under saline conditions had higher potassium (K) concentration and lower sodium (Na) concentration in leaf tissue compared to non-AM plants. Interestingly, the P content of zucchini leaf tissue was similar for both +AM and −AM treatments at both low and high P concentrations in the saline nutrient solution.
These findings suggest that the beneficial effects of AM on zucchini plants in saline conditions may be attributed to improvements in water and nutritional status, characterized by higher K concentration and lower Na accumulation. Overall, the experiment highlights the potential of AM inoculation to mitigate the negative impacts of salinity on zucchini plants, regardless of the P concentration in the nutrient solution.
Publication: Biology and Fertility of Soils
