Distribution and Association of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Different Cultivars of Wheat from Lalganj Pratapgarh District of Utter Pradesh, India

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are key components of soil micro-flora and obviously interact with other microorganisms in the rhizosphere which is the zone of influence of plant roots on microbial populations and other soil constituents. Keeping in view the importance of AM fungi, the present study was undertaken for assessing the AM fungal spore population dynamics in the rhizosphere soil and its colonization in rhizosphere soils in relation to soil physico-chemical factors. Present study represents an attempt to establish the qualitative and quantitative distribution of AM fungal species in rhizosphere soils of wheat. Thirteen different wheat cultivars collected from four different sites of Lalganj Pratapgarh (U.P.), India were examined for the AM infection. All the wheat cultivars were found to be infected with arbuscular mycorrhizae. However, their population in rhizosphere and root infection varied to a considerable extent from species to species. The maximum spore population and highest percentage of root colonization were found with the rhizosphere soil of cultivars Ankur Kedar.