Colonización de raíces de tamarindo (Tamarindus indica L.) y ocurrencia de hongos micorrízicos arbusculares en los suelos – Sopetrán, Antioquia

The tamarind tree (Tamarindus indica L.) is a multipurpose species, primarily used in the food and medical industries, cultivated by traditional growers who do not employ a fertilization process in their crop fields. In Colombia, few studies have related the presence of this plant in low-fertility soils to the colonization of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. This study aims to know the AMF associated with the rhizosphere of tamarind trees in the tropical dry forest from the Western Antioquia region, and to establish the AMF colonization of the roots. For this purpose, samples of the rhizosphere and roots from a production plot were taken, spores were extracted and morphotype identification was made, and after slide mounting, the spores were described under the microscope based on their morphological characteristics and identified using specialized identification keys. In the previously decolorized and dyed roots, the fungi colonization was determined, distinguishing hyphae, arbuscules and vesicles presence. Fifteen species of AMF were described, 53% of them belonging to the Glomeraceae family and 20% to the Acaulosporaceae family. The mycorrhizal colonization was observed in 50% of samples, hyphae were found in 39%, arbuscules in 31%, and vesicles in 14%. This record is higher than other reports on T. indica, which may indicate the importance of this symbiosis for the plant in traditional production systems studied.