Influence of arbuscular mycorrhizae on growth, leaf yield and phosphorus uptake in mulberry (Morus alba L.) under rainfed, lateritic soil conditions

A field experiment was conducted to study the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal association in mulberry saplings var. SI, together with two levels of phosphate, on growth characters, leaf yield and phosphorus uptake. The experiment was conducted in the period 1995 to 1997 at the Technical Service Centre, Kashipur, Purulia (West Bengal) under rainfed, lateritic soil conditions. Pooled data analysis revealed that there was no significant variation among the treatments in most of the characters except height of plant and leaf moisture percentage. Plant height in both treatments with Glomus mosseae was significantly less than in the others, while there was significant reduction in moisture percentage in G,fasciculatum with 25 kg of phosphate and G. mosseae with 10 kg of phosphate ha(-1) year(-1) than in other treatments. There was no significant season-treatment effect on any of the parameters. Considering all the quantitative and qualitative characters, G. fasciculatum together with the most economic dose of phosphate showed mere promising performance than G. etunicatum and C;. mosseae with different doses of phosphate fertilizer. At 80% of the recommended dose of inorganic phosphate fertilizer, Rs 534.0 were earned as net profit.