Increasing Plant Tolerance to Drought Stress by Inoculation with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi
The present study was aimed to evaluate the effects of Glomus mosseae in three levels of soil infestation (300, 600 and 900 spores pot 1 to improve tolerance of maize plants (Zea mays L. for drought stress conditions with bearing in mind determine some plant growth parameters (PGP) and biochemical (plant height, stem length, root length, plant fresh wt. shoot dry wt. root dry wt. root/shoot ratio, plant chlorophyll content, soluble protein, proline in leaves and Phosphorus (P) uptake) in the presence or absence of G. mosseae. The result shown that the drought treatment causing decrease in values of almost PGP, except plant root dry weight, which was increased when comparing with well irrigation treatment. The plants treated by G. mossea were recorded a significant (P<0.05) increase in all PGP comparing with untreated plants in both normal irrigation and drought stress. The highest PGP values were recorded when plant inoculated by 900 spores pot 1 The water deficit treatment was caused a significant decrease in plant soluble protein by rate 29.34% comparing with plants that well irrigate by normal way. While the G. mossea treatments were caused increase in plant soluble protein by rate 13.33, 22.18 and 29.27% in the normal irrigation treatment, and by rate 24.89, 36.25 and45.17% in the drought treatment comparing with plant in soil free from mycorrhizae. On contrast the proline content in plant leaves was increased in drought treatment by rate 22% comparing with plant in well irrigation. The treatments with G. mossea causing decreased in plant proline by rate 28.88, 38.05 and 43.19% in the drought treatment respectively with three levels of soil infestation. The drought treatment caused decrease in plant P uptake by rate 72.09% comparing with well irrigation treatment. The inculcation by G. mosseae caused increased in plant P uptake by rate 42.66, 76.11 and 79.32% in normal irrigation treatments and 88.34, 93.58 and 94.91% in drought stress comparing with plant free mycorrhizal in both water treatments. (Abdelmoneim T.S.;Tarek A.A. Moussa; Almaghrabi O.A. Hassan S. Alzahrani and Ismail Abdelbagi Increasing Plant Tolerance to Drought Stress by Inoculation with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Life Sci J 2014; 11(1) 10 17) (ISSN: 1097 8135).http:/www.lifesciencesite.com. 2