Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and phosphate fertilization on star fruit tree seedlings

Abstract

The success of star fruit cultivation deployment begins with the use of good quality seedlings Thus the inoculation of mycorrhizal fungi in culture seedling can be an alternative, since it was found success in both growth as nutritional aspect fruit species. In this sense, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMFs) on growth and mineral composition of star fruit seedlings, cultivated under different doses of phosphorus (P). The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse and the experimental design used was randomized blocks in a 3 x 4 factorial scheme, with three microbiological treatments (without inoculation, Rhizofagus clarum, Glomus etunicatum) and four doses of P (0, 50, 100 and 200 mg kg-1 soil) with four replications. Plants were harvested four months after sowing for biometric and nutritional analysis. In the soil without phosphate fertilization, R. clarum, provided increments of 49% in height, 99% in dry matter production and 86, 129 and 108% in the contents of N, K, and Ca, respectively, in relation to the control. Regardless of phosphate fertilization, the content of P, Mg, and S in the dry matter weight was 19.2, 17.6 and 23.6% higher in the treatment inoculated with R. clarum, in relation to the control. Mycorrhizal dependence of star fruit tree varied according to fungus species and the P dose used, being greater when the fungus R. clarum was used in absence of P.