Diversity and mycorrhizal potential of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in two natural soils in the eastern region of Morocco

This study aimed to assess the species composition and diversity of arbiscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in two soil samples from two sites in the eastern region of Morocco; Guercif and Zaïo. The results showed that the spore densities of these sites extracted by wet sieving method were very high (279 and 386 spores/10 g of soil in Zaïo and Guercif sites, respectively). The provisional identification test of isolated AMF revealed the presence of 57 AMF species, belonging to five families (Glomeraceae, Gigasporaceae, Acaulosporaceae, Entrophosporaceae and Archaesporaceae). Glomus, Rhizophagus, Funneliformis, Endogone and Acaulospora were the dominant genera. In addition, mycorrhizal potential of both soils was assessed using the “Most Probable Number” (MPN) method. The results revealed that the number of mycorrhizal propagules in Guercif soil were higher than that in Zaïo soil. It was also shown that the frequency and the intensity of root mycorrhization of leeks transplanted in Guercif soil were higher (90% and 74%, respectively) compared to those transplanted in Zaïo soil (56% and 31%, respectively). These results showed that both soils are generally rich in mycorrhizal fungal propagules and have great mycorrhizogenic power, so it would be interesting to isolate and purify fungal strains and to select those that perform well for a given parameter.