The Interaction Effect of Mycorrhiza (Glomus Intraradices) and Filtercake on Coriander (Coriandrum Sativum L.) Production

Introduction With limited arable land available around the word, some ways can be used to increase the production per unit area to meet the increasing human need for food. In addition to quantity, consideration of quality of products can lead to improve communities’ health. So, in the last few decades, application of organic and bio fertilizers has been taken into account in order to increase quantity of products as well as their quality. Mycorrhiza fungi are the most abundant microorganisms in the soil and are considered as essential factor in sustainable soil-plant system. The use of existing organic and inorganic fertilizers may stimulate the Mycorrhiza-plant root symbiosis and ensure the supply of nutrients to the plant for sustainable production. Filtercake is a main byproduct of sugarcane industry which is obtain during the processing of sugarcane syrup. Filtercake can be transformed into the valuable source of nutrients by biodegradation processes. Many studies have suggested that the use of fertilizers along with Mycorrhiza, especially phosphorous fertilizers, has negative effects on fungi symbiosis with plant root. Regarding this issue, the question arises that due to richness of Filtercake of organic matter, nutrients and microorganisms, is the Mycorrhiza interdependency affected by the addition of this organic manure to the soil? In order to answer this question, the present study was conducted to investigatethe interaction effect of Mycorrhiza(Glomus Intraradices)andFiltercake on coriander (Coriandrum Sativum L.) production. Materials and Methods In order to study the interaction effect of Filtercake and Mycorrhiza on the coriander production, a pot experiment was conducted in factorial completely randomized design with consideration of Mycorrhiza fungi (Glomus Intraradices) treatments at two levels of non-inoculation (m1) and inoculation with Mycorrhiza (m2), Filtercake in three levels of zero (f1), 1.5 (f2) and 3 wt.% (f3) with coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) as experimental plant in 4 replicates in the greenhouse of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan during 2017-2018. Twelve weeks after sowing plants were harvested and considered parameters were measured. Data analysis was performed using SAS. Comparison of the meanings was performed using Duncan's test at 5% level. Excel were used to draw charts and graphs. Results and Discussion The highest plant height and root length were observed in treatment consist of Mycorrhiza and 3% Filtercake. Same trend was observed in case of aboveground (cilantro) and root dry weight. The presence of organic matter, increasing of quasi-hormonal activity and improvement of physical, chemical and biological properties of soil are among the factors that provide favorable conditions for vegetative growth and, as a result, increase plant yield. The application of Mycorrhiza increases concentrations of phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium in cilantro, at about 103, 40, 16 and 12 percent, respectively, which are about 11, 105 and 31 percent in case of iron, zinc and copper. Mycorrhiza has a positive effect on the nutrients content in plant, which can be attributed to increased absorption through the fungal hyphae and also to the enrichment of the plant's rhizosphere. The concentration of nutrients in cilantro was significantly increased due to increase in Filtercake level. Since most of the nutrients in the soil are immobilized, the addition of Mycorrhiza fungi can help to improve nutrient uptake by increasing the volume of root access and stimulating the mineralization processes. Application of Filtercake along with Mycorrhiza improves the biological status of the fungi. Increasing the level of the Filtercake from 0 to 3 percent increases colonized Root length, Mycorrhiza interdependency and colonization percent by 51, 22 and 28 percent, respectively. According to the results, the use of Filtercake not only does not reduce the Mycorrhiza indices, but also increases them and act as a key factor for encouraging symbiosis of fungi and plant, so contribute to the enhancement of plant growth parameters. Conclusion In most of the studied characteristics, the maximum amount were observed in the treatment containing 3% Filtercake and Mycorrhiza. So, the simultaneous application of Filtercake and Mycorrhiza increased the growth parameters of the coriander. Although both of treatments (Filtercake and Mycorrhiza) have been effective in increasing the concentration of essential elements in aboveground part of plant, the effect of Mycorrhiza on increasing the concentration of phosphorus and zinc is greater than its effect on other elements, which is for iron and copper in case of Filtercake. The use of organic manure, such as Filtercake, even with high nutrient content, cannot affect the Mycorrhiza interdependency and other colonization indices due to the low release rate of these elements into the soil environment. It seems that the combination of Mycorrhiza and Filtercake by increasing the microbial and enzymatic activities in the soil and the separate application of Mycorrhiza and Filtercake by improving the access ability of the nutrients leads to provide better growth of the plant.