THE EFFECT OF ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZA APLICATION ON THE NAPIER GRASS AT INSTITUT VETERINAR MALAYSIA

F. Norfadzrin, H. Haryani, A. Aswanimiyuni, A. Azman

Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is a type of mycorrhiza in which the fungus penetrates the cortical cells of the roots of a vascular plant. They have been reported to increase growth and yield of plants. They are also found to have positive effects on plants, such as increased resistance to pathogens, drought or heavy metal stress (1). There were many reports on the association of AM fungi in several cultivated crops (2). However, the number of studies on the influence of AM fungal status on fodder crop plants is limited. AM fungi are known to play an important role in the growth and development of fodder crop plants, as they help increase the uptake of diffusion limited nutrients(3). The external hyphae of arbuscular mycorrhizae extend from the root surface to the soil beyond the P depletion zone and so access a greater volume of undepleted soil than the root alone (4). Some hyphae may extend more than 10cm from root surfaces (5) which are a hundred times further than most root hairs. Also, the small diameter of hyphae (20-50?m) allows access to soil pores that cannot be explored by roots. Therefore, a root system that has formed a mycorrhizal network will have a greater effective surface area to absorb nutrients and explore a greater volume of soil than nonmycorrhizal roots.