Effect of inoculation with mycorrhiza fungi and irrigation management on quantity and quality characteristics of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

IntroductionRaey et al. (2008) reported that irrigation was affected on traits such as number of pods per plant, 1000-seed weight, seed yield and harvest index. Nayer et al. (2006) believed that flowering and pod setting are sensitive stages to water stress in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). water stress in pollination stage reduced severity yield and phosphorous concentration of chickpea seed relative to vegetative stage (Gunes et al., 2006). Yazdani et al. (2009) studied effect of phosphate solubilisation microorganisms and plant growth promoting rhizobacteria on corn plant and reported that application of PSM and PGPR were increased yield of corn and phosphorous needs to 50%. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of inoculation with various mycorrhiza fungi and irrigation management on quantity and quality characteristics of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.).
Matherials and MethodsIn order to study the response of chickpea inoculated with different mycorrhizal fungi under different irrigation management, a split plot experiment based on Randomized Complete Block Design carried out with four replications on farm research of Industrial University of Shahroud in Bastam (36° 30′ N, 55°00′ E, and 1380 m above sea level) during 2011. Four levels of irrigation management (as main plots) was complete irrigation, non irrigation in flowering stage, non irrigation in pod setting stage and non irrigation in seed filling stage. Three levels of inoculation (as sub plots) was inoculation with Glumos mosseae, inoculation with G. intraradices and non inoculation. Planting of the seeds was done during the 2nd week of April 2011. Sowing was performed manually. Row spacing was 30 and within rows was 10 cm (333000 plants/ha). The experimental plots were 6 rows. Weed control was performed manually. Seed yield was determined by harvesting of each crop from 4 middle rows after removing of two border rows and 0.5 meter from two sides of remains rows in 2nd week of July 2011. Data were analyzed using the SAS Ver. 9.1 computer software program and treatment mean differences were separated by the least significant difference (LSD) test at the 0.05 probability level.
Results and DiscussionThe results showed that the effect of irrigation management on number of pods per plant, number of seeds per plant, 100-seed weight, Grain yield, harvest index, protein percentage, protein yield, phosphorus concentration and phosphorus yield were significant so that the most of the traits except protein was obtained from complete irrigation treatment. Differences between complete irrigation and non irrigation at seed filling stage in terms of number of pods per plant and number of seeds per plant was not significant. The effects of inoculated with mycorrhiza on all traits except number of pods per plant, number of seeds per plant and protein percentage of seed was significant and the most amounts of the traitss was obtained from inoculation with G. mosseae and the lowest belonged to non-inoculation treatment. Differences between two inoculated treatment of G. mosseae and G. intraradices in terms of 1000-seed weight was not significant. The interaction of water stress × inoculation with mycorrhiza was not significant. Seed and protein yield in complete irrigation was 2651 and 557.3 kg/ha and in non irrigation in flowering stage was 1472 and 337.3 kg/ha, respectively. Seed and protein yield in inoculation with Glumos mosseae was 2124 and 495.2 kg/ha and in non inoculation treatment was 1677 and 391.9 kg/ha, respectively.
ConclusionVegetative, Reproductive and quality traits was affected by irrigation management. water stress decreased all traits and earlier water stress had more effec on yield. Effect of inoculation was less than water stress and inoculation with G. mosseae had more effect than G. intraradices on traits.