2011 Volume 34 Issue 1 Pages 23-31
An experiment was carried out at the Sher-e-bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka during 2007-2008 to study the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on red amaranthus grown in arsenic amended soil. Plants were grown with or without AMF inoculation in soil amended with three levels of arsenic (10, 100 and 500 ppm). The higher concentrations of arsenic in soil significantly affected seed germination. The germination of seeds of red amaranthus was completely inhibited in the 500 ppm arsenic amended soil. A positive response of AMF on germination was observed. The study revealed that root length, shoot height, leaf number, fresh and dry weight of shoot and root, mycorrhizal root colonization, vigor, and nutrient (N, P, K and S) uptake were increased significantly by mycorrhizal association, while the parameters were decreased significantly with increases in arsenic concentration. Mycorrhizal inoculation reduced arsenic concentration in shoots of red amaranthus.