Effects of mycorrhizal inoculation on growthudand quality of roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.)udgrown in soilless culture system

摘要

The effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM) and organic plant waste on the growth and calyx quality of roselle cultivatedudin a soilless system was investigated. Three treatments were compared in the study, viz. (i) control, (ii) AM, comprising audmixture of Glomus sp., Gigaspora sp. and Scutellospora sp. and (iii) AM supplemented with organic plant waste. Inoculationudof soilless grown roselle resulted in the proliferation of fungal spores in the culture medium (varying from 55 to 61 sporesudper 10 gram substrate), while successful root infection ranged from 59% to 64%. The most significant observation in thisudstudy was the doubling of root volume and dry weight in the inoculated plants as compared with the control plants. Thus,udAM inoculated plants showed significantly increased vegetative growth mainly below the ground level. In addition, totaludanthocyanin concentration in the calyces was also significantly improved. However, roselle yield and other quality attributesudsuch as soluble solids concentration (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and ascorbic acid were unchanged with the introduction ofudAM. It is concluded that while the AM treatments did not affect the growth and yield of soilless-grown roselle, AM infectionudof roselle roots increased their growth substantially. AM increased significantly the anthocyanin content of the calyces inudcultures supplemented with organic plant waste.