Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on growth parameters of Pisum sativum

Mycorrhizal fungi are associated in mutualistic symbiosis relationships with fine roots of the plants. These fungi help in enhancing plant health to combat both biotic and abiotic stresses. The present investigation was undertaken to study the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on the growth performance of pea (Pisum sativum). Soils were collected from the experimental fields of Abhilashi University to be used in the pot experiment. The pots were filled with a mixture of sterilized soil and sterilized Farm Yard Manure (FYM). Labelled experimental pots were sown with two pea seeds in each. Experimental pots were inoculated using four AM fungi, namely Glomus intraradices, G. aggregatum, G. clarum and Sclerocystis microcarpa. The effects of mycorrhizal fungi were examined in terms of plant height, leaf length, total number of leaves and root length. From the results, it was observed that fungi pose a significant effect on plant height, root length and total number of roots of peas. These findings revealed that AMF can significantly contribute to improve some growth aspects of pea.