Rooting and growth response of grapevine nurslings to inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and irrigation intervals

Abstract: This study was conducted during two successive seasons (2005 and 2006); in the experimental farm of Faculty of Agriculture, Kafr El Sheikh University; with the aim to investigate the influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation and irrigation intervals on growth of grapevine nurslings cv. Ruby King. Two mix mycorrhizal fungi including Glomus fasiculatum and Glomus mosseae were used for inoculation. The AMF inoculated and non-AMF nurslings were irrigated at 3, 6 and 9 days interval. The results showed that a combined treatment of AMF inoculation and irrigation at 3 days intervals recorded the highest values in terms of length of main root, total root length, root volume, root dry weight (%), top/root ratio, number of fine roots (< 2 mm), number of small roots (2-5 mm), number of leaves and leaf area per nursling. These results are of practical importance, as they highlight the potential of using mycorrhizal fungi inoculation for root development and growth improvement in grapevine nurslings and hence increases its adaptability upon transfer from the nursery to the open field.