Effects of water stress and inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi and symbiotic bacteria on vegetative indices of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Drought, High and low tempratures are the most important abiotic stresses in chickpea cultivation. Improving plant root characteristics (root length and root volume) is one of the ways to increase drought tolerance in chickpea. Mycorrhizal symbiosis increases drought resistance of host plants through different mechanisms. To study the effects of water stress and mycorrhizal fungi inoculation on chickpea, a greenhouse experiment as split plot was carried out in Maragheh Agricultural Research Station. Field capacity soil moisture, moderate drought and severe water stress were considered as main plots and inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi (Glomus mosseae, G . intraradices both fungi and un-inoculated control) and also inoculation with mesorhizobium ciceri( with and without bacteria) were as sub-plots. Results indicated that the effect of moisture on number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, shoot and root dry weight, plant height and root volume was significant. Mesorhizobium inoculation significantly increased all of measured parameters (except flowering time) compared with the control, While mycorrhizal inoculation was significant on plant height. Chickpea shoot dry weight decreased by 47.3% and 78.5% with decreasing soil moisture from field capacity to -5 bar and -10bar respectively, while this decrease was by 40.5% and 71.2% in G. mosseae inoculation and by 37.7% and 72.5% in G. intraradices. In case of co-inoculation of two fungi, the decrease was by 78% at -10 bar, while at -5 bar tension, shoot dry weight not only did not decreased but also increased by 22%.