Document Type : Complete scientific research article
Authors
1
Soil biology and biotechnology, Agriculrural faculty, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.
2
Microbiology group, science faculty, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
3
Soil Science Department, Faculty of Agricultural, University of Tabriz, Iran
10.22069/ejsms.2026.23652.2197
Abstract
Background and Objective: Soil salinity is a growing issue in agricultural soils, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, which leads to reduced growth and crop production. Mycorrhizal fungi play a significant role in enhancing the yield of agricultural plants, especially in soils with low fertility, due to increased root surface area through the spreading of fungal mycelia in the soil. This study aimed to investigate the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on proline content, chlorophyll levels, and nutrient uptake in Zea mays plants grown in saline and non-saline soils.
Materials and Methods: This experiment was conducted as a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with two factors: inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi (Funneliformis mosseae strains A1 and A2) and salinity levels (saline soil with EC = 7 dS m-1 and non-saline soil with EC = 2 dS m-1). The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse with three replicates. The pots were maintained at 70% of field capacity for three months. After harvesting, various plant and soil properties were measured.
Findings: The results showed that salinity stress significantly reduced several measured plant and soil traits. Parameters such as leaf chlorophyll index, roots and shoot dry weight, phosphorus concentration in roots and shoots, Olsen phosphorus, microbial carbon, and colonization were reduced (by 12.3%, 12.2%, 7.1%, 43.75%, 3.6%, 30%, 28.5%, and 10.1%, respectively). Inoculation with A1 and A2 strains of mycorrhizal fungi improved most of the measured characteristics. The interaction effects of salinity and mycorrhizal fungi showed that for treatments that was inoculated with fungi, in non-saline condition, leaf chlorophyll, dry weight of roots and shoots, phosphorus in roots and shoots, Olsen phosphorus, microbial carbon, colonization, potassium, copper, manganese, iron, and zinc were significantly increased (by 1.8%, 42.2%, 15.9%, 50%, 28.5%, 68.4%, 64.38%, 92.1%, 40.5%, 44.7%, 232.7%, 87.3%, and 28.125%, respectively).
Conclusion: Overall, the use of mycorrhizal fungi plays a significant role in the absorption of nutrients and in increasing the resistance of plants (especially Zea mays plants) to salinity stress. Strain A2 performed better than strain A1 in many cases, which indicates the difference between these two strains and their adaptation to environmental conditions. The use of mycorrhizal fungi, especially salt-tolerant strains, can improve plant growth in saline soils and increase the concentration of nutrients in the inoculated plants compared to non-inoculated conditions. Therefore, plants can reduce their reliance on chemical fertilizers by improving nutrient absorption through symbiotic microorganisms, which can have significant environmental benefits.
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