Comparison of the Effects of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal (AMF) Spore Inoculation on The Growth of Mexican Marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) Plants Grown with Two Different Techniques

In recent years, the importance and utilization of plant-root-fungal mutualistic symbiosis in crop production have been increasing. In this system, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) spores are mostly used as the production material. The abundant production of healthy spores is an influential factor in the widespread use of this microbial fertilizer. Various cultivation and inoculation techniques have been developed for AMF spore production. Soil and substrate-based production techniques are widely used for the large-scale production of AMF spores. However, beyond the commercial scale, it is important to obtain reliable results in plant nutrition and growth by AMF spore inoculation without contamination for scientific studies. Therefore, in this study, the growth status of Mexican marigold (Tagetes erecta L.) grown using the Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) and the Hydroponic Technique (HT) by AMF spore inoculation was monitored. For this purpose, a pure mixture of AMF spores (Rhizopaghus irregularis) and a control treatment were applied to the media (500 spores were given to perlite media as plant inoculation material for both systems). Some yield parameters and nutrient contents were determined. At the end of the 3-month study, the differences between the yield and nutrient values of the treatments were found statistically significant (p<0.05). The highest plant height, fresh and dry plant weight, root length, and fresh root weight values (12.93cm-3.65g-1.87g-7.32cm-1.18g, respectively) were obtained in the plants inoculated with mix spores in the HT system. The highest values of some macro and micronutrients in the plants were generally obtained from the plants inoculated in the HT system (R. irregularis and mix mycorrhizal spores). The lowest values of the measured parameters were generally obtained from the control treatments in both systems, but the highest values of B, Zn, and Mn (469.44-371.42-1501.05 mg kg-1) were obtained in the non-inoculated plants (NFT system).