Investigation on morphological, photosynthetic traits, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) roots infection in sago palm (Metroxylon sagu rottb.) under saline condition

This study investigated the response ofsago palms tosaline conditions, focusing ontheir morphological and photosynthetic performance. The photosynthetic traits were evaluated using OJIP chlorophyll fluorescence transient. The plants were exposed toasaline condition of224 mM NaCl, and their ability toform associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was also assessed. Wetested both commercial AMF products, containing spores from multiple genera, and isolated AMF spores from Glomus etunicatum and Glomus grape, to determine their ability to infect sago palm roots under high salt conditions. The results showed that sago palms can maintain efficient photosynthesis even at high salt levels. This is likely due to their ability to prevent excessive salt uptake in shoots and water loss from roots by forming lignin deposits in cell tissues. Furthermore, the study found that sago palm roots can form associations with AMF under saline conditions. These findings indicate that sago palms exhibit tolerance to saline environments, making them a promising crop option for areas with low soil quality where other carbohydrate-producing crops cannot tolerate the conditions.