The Effect of Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (VAM) on Yield and Yield Components of Three Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) Cultivars

Subject Areas : Journal of Crop Ecophysiology

A.  Mehraban ¹ (Department of Agriculture, Zahedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zahedan, Iran)
S.M.  Moussavi Nik ² (Assistant Prof., Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran)
A.  Tavassoli ³ (Department of Agriculture, Zahedan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Zahedan, Iran)

Received: 2011-12-13 Accepted : 2013-05-21 Published : 2012-10-22

Keywords: yield, Sorghum, Yield components, Mycorrhiza,

Abstract :

To evaluate the influence of vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) on yield and yield components of three sorghum cultivars, a factorial experiment based randomized complete block design with four replications was carried out in 2007, at the Agricultural Research Center of Zahak, Iran. The treatments were different mycorrhiza species in three levels: without mycorrhiza (M1), Glomus etanicatum (M2) and G. mosseae(M3) and three cultivars of sorghum: local cultivars (C1), KGS25 (C2) and KGS29 (C3). The results showed that all of the traits measured were increased by inoculation of cultivars with mycorrhiza. The highest plant height (165.1 cm), stem diameter (1.61 cm), flag leaf length (27.22 cm), flag leaf width (3.67 cm) and ear width (5.00 cm) was obtained by inoculation of seed with Glumus etanicatum, and highest ear length (19.21 cm), ear number (2.51), seed number per ear (10252.11), 1000-seed weight (17.56 g) and grain yield (1967.32 kg/ha) by using Glumus mossea. The highest leaf width and length belonged to local cultivar, and the highest seed yield to KGS 29 cultivar. However, differences of other traits among sorghum cultivars were not significant. Based on the experimental results it can be concluded that highest grain yield may be obtained by inoculating seeds of KGS 29 with Glumus mossea.