Document Type : Full Paper
Authors
1
M.Sc. Student, Faculty of Agriculture, Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Iran
2
Associate Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Iran
3
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Iran
4
Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Iran
Abstract
One of the major problems with commercial production of micro-propagated plants is low survival and poor growth after transplanting. In order to investigation the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis on establishment, survival, growth, as well as nutrients absorption on Pyrodwarf micropropagated rootstock in drought stress conditions, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with two factors including mycorrhizae in two levels (with and without) and drought stress in three levels (three, five and seven days irrigation intervals) in three replications in greenhouse conditions. The plants harvested two months after drought stress. The results of variance analysis showed that mycorrhizal symbiosis significantly increased vegetative indices at all levels of drought stress. The total leaf area, stem height, total leaf fresh weight and root dry weight of mycorrhizal seedlings were 3.6, 1.3, 3.1 and 1.9 times higher than non-mycorrhizal plants, respectively. The content of P, Mn, Cu, Zn and K and in root and shoot tissues increased significantly in mycorrhizal treatments than control. Generally, the results of this study showed that pear seedlings treated by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi had better acclimatization, growth and more tolerance at normal and drought stress condition.
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