ISHS Acta Horticulturae 807: International Symposium on Strategies Towards Sustainability of Protected Cultivation in Mild Winter Climate
NURSERY INOCULATION OF PEPPER WITH ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI: AN EFFECTIVE TOOL TO ENHANCE TRANSPLANT PERFORMANCE |
| Authors: | O. Temperini, Y. Rouphael, L. Parrano, E. Biagiola, G. Colla, R. Mariotti, E. Rea, C.M. Rivera |
| Keywords: | arbuscular mycorrhiza, Capsicum annuum L., nursery, transplant |
| Abstract:
The objective of the current study was to assess the nursery inoculation of three pepper genotypes with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM) on the transplant production performance. Treatments were defined by a factorial combination of three local genotypes (Pontecorvo, Pupaccella, and Friggitelli) and two AM inoculation treatments (inoculated, +AM or non inoculated, -AM). Measurements of five-week transplants included shoot and root fresh weight and dry weight, leaf area, stem length, root length-diameter distribution and the AM root colonization. Among treatments, Pupacella inoculated plants showed the better transplant performance due to its higher shoot fresh weight (avg. 7.7 g plant-1), high shoot:root ratio (avg. 2.8), good stem vigour (avg. 18.2 mg cm-1) and higher Specific Leaf Fresh Weight. AM inoculation showed enhancement in transplant performance also in Friggitelli cultivar where root biomass were significantly increased with +AM in comparison with –AM treatment. The measured AM colonization was relatively low due to the beginning of symbiosis process. Pupacella cultivar showed the highest colonization percentage (15%). Use of AM in nursery appear to provide a benefit to the development of bell pepper transplants in particular under organic farming conditions. | |
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