Isolation, Identification and Characterization of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Apple (Malus domestica Borkh) Growing Area of Kashmir Himalaya

Samples from rhizospheric soil and root pieces collected from 10 villages of district Pulwama of Kashmir Himalaya were processed for isolation of arbuscular mycorrhizal spores and for their identification with the help of INVAM. The isolated genera were identified as Acaulospora, Scutellospora, Gigaspora, and Glomus. Glomus spores were more predominant while as Scutellospora spores were least predominant in the district. Spores of Gigaspora were larger in diameter than others. Glomus sp. showed higher root colonization from sunsomil, Acaulospora sp. from Pinglin, Gigaspora sp. from Shiekhar and Scutellospora sp. from Drubgam. Highest spore population and phosphatase activity was recorded in Pinglin. The highest biological activity was due to adequate application of organic manures in the soil and also due to application of fertilizers.