Effect of ectomycorrhizal inoculation on the growth of apple seedlings

Effect of mycorrhizal inoculation on growth rate of apple seedlings was studied in glass house conditions. The experiment was carried out in two soil types viz. collected from orchard floor and from uprooted apple tree basin. The stratified apple seeds were inoculated and 20 days old seedlings were transplanted in pots. Observations on growth parameters were recorded at different ages of seedling up to 12 months. The results revealed higher growth rate w.r.t. shoot height, total seedling dry weight, collar diameter and root volume in inoculated seedlings in both the soil types. Addition of organic matter along with mycorrhizal inoculum showed further increase in growth rate of all the parameters. Seedling growth was much higher in basin soils than in natural soils but per cent increase in different growth parameters was more in nutrient poor soil (orchard soil) than nutrient rich (basin soil). The growth data also revealed that natural soils without sterilization exhibited higher growth rate than sterilized soil because of presence of native endophytes in natural soil.