Response Of Maize To Different Sources Of Phosphorus And Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi In Soil Of Minna

At the Federal University of Technology, Minna, during the cropping season of 2021, a screen house experiment was carried out to ascertain how maize responded to various AMF and phosphorus sources. Using a sterilized auger, soil samples were collected from the Teaching and Research Farm Gidan Kwano Campus at a depth of 0 to 15 centimeters. The treatment were 3 phosphorus sources at 60 Kg P ha-1 [0 Kg P ha-1 as control, bone meal as natural source (0.34 g per 2 Kg soil) and Single super phosphate as inorganic source (0.60g per 2 Kg soil)] and 3 AMF sources [No AMF as control, Native (indigenous) AMF and known AMF species (Glomus intaradices) and 1 ml was used for each pot for inoculation]. Treatments were repeated 3x and fitted to a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Seeds were sown at a rate of four seeds per pot prior to treatment, and after one week of planting, they were reduced to two seedlings. At 2 days subsequent to planting, pots were treated with basal use of 200 ml hydroponic nutrient solution per pot and seedlings were watered daily aside from when hydroponic nutrient solution was applied. At six weeks after planting, the plants were harvested, and the resulting data were analyzed using ANOVA and Least Significant Difference (LSD) was used to separate the means. The obtained results demonstrated that the interaction between P sources and AMF had a significant impact on root dry biomass, shoot Phosphorus Content, and root Phosphorus Content, but not on plant height, shoot biomass, root fresh biomass, or root length. Maize interacting with indigenous AMF worked improved more growth parameters than interaction with Glomus intaradices (Known AMF). Therefore, it may not be necessary to inoculate maize with known AMF strains. However, additional research with a number of known strains is required to determine whether superior strains that can outperform the indigenous AMF strain can be selected.