Status of Vesicular-arbuscular (VA) Mycorrhizae in Vegetable Crop Plants of Bangladesh

Abstract: An investigation was carried out for fifteen plant species, cultivated widely as vegetable crops in Bangladesh, belonged to six different families to measure their affinity in harbouring symbiotic association with mycorrhizal fungi. Fourteen out of the fifteen species were having developed VA-mycorrhizal colonization in their root tissues with a range of 7 % to 98%. All the soil samples tested were slightly acidic and housed VA-mycorrhizal spore with a density range of 37-259 spores per 100g air dried soil. The mycorrhizal spore density in the soil was not found to have any effect on symbiotic colonization in root tissues of studied vegetable crop plants by mycorrhizae. The soil pH was also found to have no correlation with both infections of root tissues by VA-mucorrhizal fungi and spore densities in the soil. Variations in root infections and spore densities were found statistically significant. Plant species had a significant role in root tissue colonization by mycorrhizal fungi. Key words: VA-mycorrhizae Vegetables Crop plant Bangladesh