Characterization of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in apple (Malus domestica Borkh) growing area in Kashmir Himalaya (India): A case study of Bandipora district

Rhizosphere soil samples and root pieces of 3 year old apple trees (var. Red delicious) were collected from 10 villages of district Bandipora of Kashmir Himalaya. Samples were processed for isolation of arbuscular mycorrhizal spores and their identification. On the basis of various morphological characters such as spore shape, colour, size, hyphal colour and with the help of International Collection of Vesicular-Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (INVAM), the isolated genera were identified as Acaulospora, Scutellospora, Gigaspora, and Glomus. Glomus spores were more predominant in the district followed by Acaulospora. Spores of Gigaspora were larger in diameter while as Glomus spores were smaller. Glomus species showed higher root colonization from Markondal followed by Acaulospora species from Gorura, Gigaspora species from Ajas and Scutellospora species from Sangri. The highest biological activity was due to adequate application of organic manures in the soil and also due to application of fertilizers. Key words: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), apple, Acaulospora, Scutellospora, Gigaspora, Glomus, root colonization, Kashmir.