Arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculation in Citrus volkameriana Tan & Pasq

Objective. We evaluated the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculation in Citrusvolkameriana Tan & Pasq plants with the application of Glomus spp Zac- 19 (G.claroides, G. diaphanum and G. albidum) to assess growth under greenhouseconditions without fertilizer application.Methodology. The evaluated treatments were inoculation with 2,4,6,8, and 10 g ofinoculum, plus a control without inoculation in an experimental design of completerandomized blocks with three replications. Variables were plant height, stem diameter,number of leaves, foliar area, dry weight, and mycorrhizal colonization.Results. A statistically significant response (p?0.01) to inoculation wasobserved, registering higher growth of mycorrhizal plants. The inoculation wasconsidered appropriate for all the levels evaluated. The outstanding treatment was 10 gof inoculum that produced plants with 110.16 cm in height for the last sampling; 38.56leaves per plant; 1.13 cm stem diameter; 35.95 g dry weight of root; 76.88 g dry weightof the aerial part of the plant; 225.03 cm 2 of leaf area per plant and 88.87% ofmycorrhizal colonization.Conclusions. The application of 10 g per plant to the roots of Citrus volkameriana fromthe Glomus Zac-19 arbuscular mycorrhizal consortium promoted the production of morevigorous plants for grafting, without the application of chemical fertilizer.