Effect of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi on Some Morphological and Physiological Characteristics of Quince Seedlings under Bicarbonate Stress Condition

In order to evaluate the response of quince cv. Isfahan seedlings to sodium bicarbonate stress in the presence of mycorrhizal, a factorial experiment was conducted based on a completely randomized design in the presence of four levels of soil sodium bicarbonate (0, 5, 10, and 15 mM) and four levels of mycorrhizal (Rhizophagus intraradices, Funneliformis mosseae, the combination of two species and no inoculation (control)) with three replications. The results showed a significant decrease in root colonization, seedling height, leaf number, shoot dry weight, relative leaf chlorophyll content, and total leaf antioxidant capacity with increasing sodium bicarbonate concentration in the nutrient solution. In contrast, seedlings inoculated with mycorrhizal, especially R. intraradices, increased these indices compared to the control treatment. Although a significant decrease in the roots and leaves iron concentration of quince seedlings was observed with increasing the concentration of sodium bicarbonate, the use of R. intraradices significantly improved the iron content, especially at concentrations of 5 and 10 mM sodium bicarbonate. A significant increase in the concentration of phenolic compounds and the phenylalanine ammonia-lyase enzyme activity was observed in concentrations of 5 and 10 mM sodium bicarbonate by mycorrhizal treatments. In general, it can be suggested that mycorrhizal, especially R. intraradices, probably facilitates the iron uptake and increases iron content in roots and leaves of quince seedlings in the presence of different concentrations of sodium bicarbonate by affecting the synthesis of phenolic compounds.