Abstract:

【Objective】 The effect of Arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF) on plant growth and nutrient utilization in upland rice and mungbean intercropping system was studied. 【Method】 A pot experiment was conducted in greenhouse and AMF colonization rates of rice and mungbean’s root, plant nutrient content and the ability of nitrogen fixation, and the changes of nutrient content in soil were analyzed. 【Result】 The results of the experiment showed that the rate of AMF colonization of rice and mungbean’s root reached 14.47% and 92.2% in intercopping system, and increased by 4.11% and 11.95%, respectively, compared with that in monocropping system. At the same time the nirtrogen content in shoots and roots of mungbean and rice increased by 83.72% and 64.83%, 53.76% and 41.29%, and the content of iron in shoots and roots of mungbean increased by 223.08% and 60.19%, repectively. For the intercropping crops inoculated with AMF, the biomass of mungbean increased by 288.8%, whereas the rice biomass had no significant change in all treatments with or without inoculation of AMF, the number and dry weight of nodules also significantly increased when mungbean inrercropped with rice and inoculated with AMF. In contrast to that of non-inoculation with AMF and monocropping, the content of nitrogen, phosphorus and iron in intercropped mungbean’s nodules with inoculation increased by 80.14%, 69.54%, 39.62%, respectively. Additionally, intercropping with AMF inoculation significantly increased soil nitrogen content, but reduced soil phosphorus content. 【Conclusion】 It is concluded that nitrogen, phosphorus and iron content, the numbers and dry weight of mungbean nodules increased, and the growth of mungbean was improved in upland rice-mungbean intercropping system inoculated with AMF .

Key words: mungbean, rice, arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF), intercropping, nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, root nodule