Interrelationships among Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae Population, Soil Properties and Root Colonization Capacity of Soil

Population of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) propagules was determined in different types of soils using most probable number technique and correlated with soil properties and VAM root colonization capacity of these soils, viz. sandy loam of Pantnagar, silty clay loam of Taklan village (Rampur), gravelly loam of DSV campus, Nainital, loam of Bhatara village (Bareilly) and sandy loam of Modipuram (Merut) contained 21, 9, 17, 15 and 23 propagules g⁻¹ soil, respectively. Two out of five soils were rated as high in VAM population. The population of VAM propagules in soil showed positive correlation with soil properties such as N, organic C, available K, sand content, pH and per cent VAM root infection capacity of soil while negative correlation with CEC, available P, silt and clay content.