STANDARDIZATION OF THE SPORE DENSITY OF AM FUNGAL INOCULUM FOR EFFECTIVE COLONIZATION

A pot culture experiment was conducted to develop quality standards for the Arbuscular Mycorrhiza (AM) inoculum in terms of spore density in order to ensure the efficacy of the AM product when used for crop production as a P mobilizing biofertilizer. Plant growth parameters like root volume and total plant dry weight of maize (PEHM5) which was used as trap crop skyrocketed to its maximum when inoculated with 5-6 spores g-1 of AM inoculum. Effective root colonization of 100% was recorded in maize when 5-6 spores, was present. Total root length colonization of the maize variety PEHM5 was registered to be more than 90%, when treated with an AM inoculum containing 5-6 spores g-1. Moreover, a significant increase of the spore number was observed, when sterilized vermiculite + 10% soil was used as substrate for the AM inoculum production with increased spore density of 5-6 spores g-1. Thus, spore density of 5-6 spores was standardized to be one of the quality control parameter of AM inoculum which can be adopted to certify a high quality AM product for crop production.