PLANT CELL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) fungi shape advantageous affiliation with plants and contribute to their growth and development. The study attempts to understand the growth performance of Capsicum frutescens L. inoculated with AM fungi in soil corrected with various dosages of nitrogen (N). The analysis was performed in a random plot design with 0, 50, 100, and 150% levels of N and inoculation of 5 AM species viz. Acaulospora denticulata, Gigaspora albida, Glomus geosporum, Scutellospora corolloidea, and Scutellospora scutata. Plants were harvested after three months from the date of planting. The study found that the shoot and root dry weight in AM fungi inoculated plants at different levels of N were significantly more than the non-mycorrhizal plants. Both the mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plants recorded the highest dry weight in 100% of the N application. Mycorrhizal Efficiency Index (MEI) of AM plants ranged between 8 to 30% at distinctive N dosages with G. geosporum recording maximum MEI at zero and 50% N fertilization. Among different inoculants, G. geosporum yielded the highest and A. denticulata, the lowest N and phosphorus content at all levels of N fertilization. Percentage of root infection by all AM species significantly increased at 100% of N application except by S. scutata at 50% of N.