Growth of mycorrhizal tomato and mineral acquisition under salt stress

High salt levels in soil and water can limit agricultural production and la nd development in arid and semiarid regions. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi ( AMF) have been shown to decrease plant yield losses in saline soils. The ob jective of this study was to examine the growth and mineral acquisition res ponses of greenhouse-grown tomato to colonization by the AMF Glomus mosseae [(Nicol. And Gerd.) Gerd. and Trappe] under varied levels of salt. NaCl wa s added to soil in the irrigation water to give an ECe of 1.4 (control), 4. 7 (medium) and 7.4 dS m(-1) thigh salt stress). Plants were grown in a ster ilized, low P (silty clay) soil-sand mix. Mycorrhizal colonization was high er in the control than in saline soil conditions. Shoot and root dry matter yields and leaf area were higher in mycorrhizal than in nonmycorrhizal pla nts. Total accumulation of P, Zn, Cu. and Fe was higher in mycorrhizal than in nonmycorrhizal plants under both control and medium salt stress conditi ons. Shoot Na concentrations were lower in mycorrhizal than in nonmycorrhiz al plants grown under saline soil conditions. The improved growth and nutri ent acquisition in tomato demonstrate the potential of AMF colonization for protecting plants against salt stress in arid and semiarid areas.