Studies on mycorrhizal associations and occurrence of endogonaceous spores in soils of malakand division

Abstract

Three hundred anel eighty plants be :on ginc to ::c;i x t y two families were collected from Na] ak anJ ivi ~io n. Th r root systems were examined for the typ e an d ext( . . lt of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza infect j on . Occurrence of Endogonaceous spores in the soil and spore ty? €S ~ere a150 determined. Seventy nine percent of the collected l~n t ~r cic5 belonging to fifty four [' ~milic~ were foun J t o I ,. I~:"'l:- c. '-1 r;l r l.- (' 11 5 ide red to h c n '>I, - PI Y cor r h 1 ;: <l 1. i, :: r c ( Lll 1 :) harbour mycorl'hi ;:,ll IllJ(..:tion in seine of trw i.' :,'l!ib cl' '';, Plant!' be10n ing to ( ;i" l ilies, Arace~H', ('~I !':l i"; ·'-'.l('. Comlilelinaceae , Cypcrace;l C' , Guttiferac, C)'nli1o r l-.'I~ , Ru taceae and Zygophyllaceae were found to be enmycorrhizal. Sixty percent of infected plants of Dir and Chitral collection, sho~cd 50-73 percent infcct~J re e t 1 eng t h . Inc a 5 e 0 f t he rem a i n i n g 4 0 r ere .:' n t p 1 ;:n t. s " " , , jn :~ ('ctC'd root length ra nged bC ti\-CC>Tl r' - L~ ·I i"r.~ ,_ . Pl,; : c('llt'ct cLl frolll Slvat ),'a.lley when eX<t1.17ll''; • . C)T C'xtent (' infection , almost 50 percent of the e. amincd plants exhibited root infection rate rangjng bet~een 50-101 percent. Infection rate in remaining 50 percent plants was between 0-46 p~rcent.