Isolation of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and their effect on growth performance of Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) Nees)
- Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi were symbiotically associated in roots of the Andrographis paniculata in mutual relationships that help in enhancing plant growth performance. The present study was carried out to study the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on the growth parameters of Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata). The rhizospheric soil and plant samples were collected from the diverse regions of Washim district and were used in the pot experiment. The pots were filled with a mixture of sterilized rhizospheric soil and Farm Yard Manure (FYM) and labeled experimental pots were sown with seeds of Andrographis paniculata along with control. The experimental pots were inoculated using three species of isolated AM fungi like Glomus fasciculatum, Glomus intraradices, and Glomus mosseae. The effect of these isolated AM fungi was evaluated in growth performance comprising microscopic characterization of isolated AM fungal species, plant height, root length, fresh and dry weight, and total number of roots and leaves of pot grown Andrographis paniculata. In results, the AM fungi were posing a noteworthy effect on plant height (76.4±4.9 cm of G. mosseae treated plants), root length (16.8±1.3 cm of G. mosseae treated plants), total number of average roots (26±1.6) and leaves (41±3.3) per plant, and fresh weight (50.3 ± 4.6 g) and dry weight (8.9 ± 1.0 g) in G. mosseae treated plants. Such improvement in above tested growth parameters revealed that AM fungi can significantly contribute to enhance the growth performance of Kalmegh.