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Occurrence and Distribution of Arbuscular MycorrhizaL FUNGI in Wheat and Maize crops of Malakand Division of north

west frontier province

NASRULLAH¹, M. SHARIF^1*, K. RUBINA² AND T. BURNI³

Abstract: Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are of considerable interest because of their ability to form symbiotic associations with various crop species. Rhizosphere soil samples were collected both from marginal and fertile soil alongwith wheat and maize roots during the year 2005. In wheat, maximum numbers of white spores were found in Kanju, Beha, Besham, Bunir, Mingora, Alpuri., brown spores in Pirsabak, Mingora and Beha and black spores in Badwan, Shangla, Bunir, Marghuzar and Besham soil series with fungal infection rates rang in from 32 to 68% in roots of wheat crop. In maize, highest concentrations of white spores were found in Pirsabak, Besham, Kanju, Shangla, Bunir and Marghuzar, brown spores in Marghuzar Shangla Badwan, Beha, Khwazakhela and Alpuri and black spores in Pirsabak Khwazakhela and Besham soil series with 24 to 60% infection rates in roots of maize crop. Results suggest that spores density in soil and roots infection intensity varied from one site to another under different agro-ecological conditions and higher AM infections rates were observed in soil with low organic matter contents.

¹Department of Soil & Environ. Sciences, NWFP Agric. University Peshawar, Pakistan

²Department of Agriceconomics, NWFP Agriculture University Peshawar

³Department of Botany, Peshawar University, Peshawar