VESICULAR-ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL INOCULATION OF KIWIFRUIT (ACTINIDIA-DELICIOSA) MICROPROPAGATED PLANTS

The effects of inoculation with a vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungus (Glomus sp strain E3) and fertilization with a complex (NPK) fertilizer on growth of micropropagated kiwifruit were evaluated. Plantlets were inoculated with VAM and fertilizer added when transplanting to a peat-based medium. Root fungal colonization was present in roots from all treatments 80 d after inoculation. Fertilization did not affect percent root colonization, which was increased by increasing the amount of inoculum. Plant growth was assessed in terms ot leaf area and plant weight. Plant growth was low in the absence of fertilization. Increasing fertilization rates increased the growth of inoculated and non inoculated plants. VAM inoculation induced larger growth in plants receiving intermediate fertilizer rates, but reduced growth, in respect to non inoculated plants, at the highest fertilization rates.