Impact of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Pseudomonas

Gerbera jamesonii is of commercial significance and fifth most used cut flower in the world today. A pot experiment was performed to see the effect of co-inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) i.e. (Glomus mosseae and Acaulospora laevis) with phosphate solubilizing bacteria Pseudomonas fluorescens in the presence of different doses of superphosphate (low, medium, high) on growth establishment and flowering response of Gerbera. Among all treatments, plants inoculated with mix culture of G. mosseae + A. laevis + P. fluorescens showed best response in terms of greater root length, root biomass, percent root colonization, AM spore number, number of flowers, phosphorus content and phosphatase activity at lower concentration of superphosphate. Moreover, maximum increase in leaf area and shoot biomass was found in plants treated with dual combination of G. mosseae + P. fluorescens at lower concentration of superphosphate. This study provides a good scope for commercially utilizing the efficient strains of AM fungi with P. fluorescens in the establishment and growth improvement of Gerbera.