TITLE:
Inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi improves seedlings growth of two sahelian date palm cultivars (Phoenix dactylifera L., cv. Nakhla hamra and cv. Tijib) under salinity stresses
AUTHORS:
Ibrahima Léopold Djitiningo Diatta, Aboubacry Kane, Codjo Emile Agbangba, Maurice Sagna, Diegane Diouf, Frédérique Aberlenc-Bertossi, Yves Duval, Alain Borgel, Djibril Sane
KEYWORDS:
Sahel; Date Palm; Salinity; Inoculation; Mycorrhizae; Glomus; Proline
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Bioscience and Biotechnology,
Vol.5 No.1,
January
23,
2014
ABSTRACT: This study presents an analysis of the impact of mycorrhizal
inoculation on growth under salt stress of date palms cultivars Nakhla hamra (NHH)
and Tijib known in the Sahel for their earliness in flowering and fruiting. The
seedlings were grown in a greenhouse on a sandy substrate watered to field
capacity every two days and were subjected to increasing levels of NaCl (0, 1,
2, 4, 6, 8 and 16 g·L-1) and then inoculated with 5 strains of Glomus (G. aggregatum, G.
intraradices, G. verriculosum, G. mosseae, G. fasciculatum). The experimental design was a randomized complete
block with three factors (cultivars: Tijib and Nakhla Hamra x seven levels of
NaCl concentrations x six levels of inoculum). The results showed that in the
absence of NaCl, G. verriculosum significantly
enhanced shoot growth: 33.5 cm against 30.3 cm in the control and roots growth:
81.5 cm against 78 cm in NHH, while in Tijib, the growth is stimulated by Glomus fasciculatum: 33.8 cm against
32.7 cm for stems and 90 cm against 86 cm for the roots of inoculated plants
and controls. In contrast, in the presence of NaCl 8 g·L-1, NHH has
a better growth in the presence of G.
intraradices: 37.3 cm against 30.6 cm for stems and 77 cm against 73 for
roots, while Tijib grows better in the presence of G. fasciculatum with respectively 31.9 cm against 31.7 cm and 51.27
cm against 51.6 cm for stems and roots of inoculated plants and controls.
Biochemical analysis revealed that changes in levels of proline depend on the
cultivar, the mycorrhizal strain used and concentrations of NaCl applied. These
results open the prospect of using mycorrhizal fungi to improve the
productivity of palm trees in the Sahel.