Abstract
A study was conducted on chickpeas at AEZ-28 (CARS, Joydebpur) and AEZ-11 (RARS, Ishurdi) during the rabi season of 1999-2000 to assess the effect of organic, inorganic and bio-fertilizers on the natural occurrence of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in chickpeas. The variety BARI Chhola-5 and the peat based rhizobial inoculum (Rhizobium strain RCa-220) were used in this experiment. The experiment was composed of six fertilizer treatments arranged in RCBD having four replications. At AEZ-28 (Joydebpur), the highest root colonization in chickpea (65.0%) was recorded with treatment T4 (Cowdung + Inoculum). But the highest spore number (132.0 per 100 g soil) was recorded with T2 (P50 K50 S20 Zn5 + Inoculum). At AEZ-11 (Ishurdi), maximum root colonization (82.5%) was recorded with T3 (CD + P25 K25 S10 Zn2.5 + Inoculum). However, the highest spore number (246.3 per 100 g soil) was recorded with T4. The lowest colonization and spore number was recorded with T1 (full dose of fertilizers). Root colonization and spore population were also found to have varied greatly from location to location. The highest root colonization was recorded at AEZ-11 (Ishurdi) for each treatment except T5 (Inoculum) compared to AEZ-28 (Joydebpur). The highest spore population was also recorded at AEZ-11 (Ishurdi) for all the treatments. Only small quantities of Glomus and Acaulospora were observed in the treatments of T1 and T2, but in treatments of T3, T4 and T5, Glomus, Gigaspora, Acaulospora and Scutellospora were found in abundance. Variation in occurrence of different genera between two locations was not prominent.
