Evaluation of mycorrhizal application in overcoming soil water limitations in cocoa seedlings

บทคัดย่อ

Importance of the work: Mycorrhiza could play a major role in overcoming soil water
limitations that restrict crop growth.
Objectives: To evaluate the impact of mycorrhizal application on enhancing cocoa
seedling resilience to water limitations in the soil.
Materials and Methods: The experiment was conducted using a split-plot design based
on a randomized block design. The main plot had two soil moisture levels: 100% and 50%
f
ield capacity. The sub-plots were applications of different mycorrhizae: M0, CM, CGK1,
CGK2, CGK3, CGK4, CGK5, CS1, CS2, ACS1, ACS2, ACS3 and RCS.
Results: The 12 mycorrhizae evaluated had different responses to soil moisture levels.
The soil moisture level at 50% field capacity in the control treatment significantly
reduced the nitrogen uptake, seedling height, shoot fresh weight and shoot dry weight
of cocoa seedlings; however, it did not cause drought stress. These four variables served
as indicators for evaluating mycorrhizal applications in managing soil moisture levels at
50% field capacity. Consistently, the mycorrhizae CGK3, ACS3 and RCS exhibited similar
performance at both 50% and 100% field capacity across these four indicator variables.
Main finding: The identification of three mycorrhizae, CGK3, ACS3 and RCS, could
enhance the diversity of mycorrhizae that help cocoa seedlings overcome soil water
limitations.