The effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the seedling growth of four hybrid cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) cultivars

The effectiveness of different arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on different hybrid cucumber cultivarshas not been well documented, even under normal seedling conditions. The present study therefore aimed to evaluate colonization, nutrient uptake, dependency, and other seedling traits of 4 cucumber hybrids (Ceren F1, Beta F1, Silyon F1 and Maraton F1) inoculated by 3 different AMF [Glomus intraradices (Gi), Glomus etunicatum (Ge) and Gigaspora margarita (Gm)]. Traits were evaluated in a growth chamber experiment consisting of a 4 × 4 factorial design (4 cucumber hybrids, 3 AMF plus 1 control) with 3 random replications. AMF-inoculated cucumber seedlings had shorter hypocotyledons and wider and longer cotyledons than non-inoculated seedlings. Gm-inoculated seedlings had the narrowest stem diameter and lowest leaf number. AMF-inoculated seedlings had shorter shoots and longer roots than noninoculated ones. There was significant mycorrhizal effect on the iron (Fe) content of shoots and the mycorrhizal colonization rate in roots. Relative mycorrhizal dependency (RMD) varied widely among the hybrid cucumber cultivars tested. It is thought that the determination of high-RMD cultivars could lead to improvements in cucumber seedlingproduction in the future.