Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi species associated with rhizosphere of Olea europaea L. in Morocco

1 SUMMARY A survey on the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in the rhizosphere of olive trees and its colonization on the tree roots were conducted in seven groves located in several regions of Morocco. The objective of the present study deal the evaluation of the mycorrhizal status of the olive trees roots and the survey of AMF species in the olive grove soils. The microscopic analysis of the mycorrhizal olive roots revealed that all samples formed AM. The frequency and the mean intensity of root colonization had respectively reached 96 and 30%, indicating the micotrophic nature of Olea europaea . The number of AM fungal spores detected in different field soils was relatively high. The spores’ population varied from 36 to 165 spores/100 g of the soil sample. All spores belonged to Glomineae and Gigasporineae suborders, represented by Glomaceae , Acaulosporaceae and Gigasporaceae families. The morphological characters revealed the existence of 5 spores genres, namely Glomus , Entrophospora , Gigaspora, Acaulospora and Scutellospora . The dominate Glomus genre is represented by three species. The Entrophospora genre is represented by only one specie. Acaulospora, Gigaspora and Scutellospora genres are represented by a non-identified species each.