Inoculation with phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms and a vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus improves dry matter yield and nutrient uptake bywheat grown in a sandy soil

The effect of inoculating wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) with the PO43--solub ilizing microorganisms (PSM) Bacillus circulans and Cladosporium herbarum a nd the vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungus Glomus sp. 88 with or without Mussoorie rock phosphate (MRP) amendment in a nutrient-deficient na tural sandy soil was studied. In the sandy soil of low fertility root colon ization by VAM fungi was low. Inoculation with Glomus sp. 88 improved root colonization. At maturity, grain and straw yields as well as N and P uptake improved significantly following inoculation with PSM or the VAM fungus. T hese increases were higher on combined inoculation of PSM and the VAM fungu s with MRP amendment. In general, a larger population of PSM was maintained in the rhizosphere of wheat in treatments with VAM fungal inoculation and MRP amendment. The results suggest that combined inoculation with PSM and a VAM fungus along with MRP amendment can improve crop yields in nutrient-de ficient soils.