Journal of Biotechnology & Biomaterials
Open Access

Abstract

Banana is one of the most important commercial fruit crop used as staple or complementary food commonly grown throughout the world. The role of AM fungi in improving the plant growth and nutritional status and their possible use in fruit production has been an area of intense research. Hence in the present study, an attempt has been made to discuss the efficacy of AM fungi alone and in combination with Phosphate solubilizing microorganism on micropropagated Banana- Musa paradisiaca L. cv. Dwarf cavendish. Both sucker raised and micropropagated plants were inoculated with Glomus mosseae and Glomus fasciculatum alone and in combination with Trichoderma viride ? A phosphate solubilizing microorganism, at two fertilizer levels - P and P0. Plant growth, physiological changes, nutritional status and yield were recorded, analyzed and compared between sucker raised and micropropagated plants. The alkaline and acid phosphatase activity was measured on surface of roots and root extracts of both control and inoculated plants. The increased activities of enzymes were recorded in G. fasciculatum alone and with T. viride followed by G. mosseae alone and with T. viride treated plants in the field. The number of hands/ bunch is 15 and bunch weight of 52.52 Kg was recorded in G. fasciculatum + T. viride treated plants against 11 hands /bunch and 45.92 Kg of bunch weight in uninoculated sucker raised plants at P-level. In conclusion endomycorrhization in Banana plants during their early stages of development could efficiently improve their growth by enhancing physiological status resulted in better yield compared to sucker raised plants.

Biography

R Sowmya is an Assistant Professor at Department of Botany, Yuvaraja?s College, University of Mysore, Mysore, Karnataka, India. She has got her MSc degree from the University of Bangalore in the year 1994. She obtained her Mphil degree in1996. She has been awarded PhD degree for the thesis entitled ?Utilization of VAM fungi for improving the establishment of micropropagated plants? in 2002 under the guidance of Prof.D.H.Tejavathi . She continued her research as Research Associate in the CSIR Project ?Commercial exploitation of regenerates of Agave?. She has published research papers in national and international journals and presented her research work in national and international conferences.