Using Two Species of Mycorrhizal Fungi in Different Media to Increase the Rooting of Schefflera Arboricola Cuttings

Schefflera arboricola is an evergreen shrub in the family of Araliaceae. The effect of mycorrhizal fungi symbiosis and rooting media on Schefflera cuttings were investigated. Two mycorrhizal fungi species and three types of rooting media were compared. Basic plots were the media: perlite, 50% perlite +50% cocopeat and sand, alternative plots were species of mycorrhizal fungi: 1) Glomus intraradices, 2) G. mossaea, 3) mixture of the two fungi and 4) control treatment (without fungi). The results showed that the effect of different media on all of dependent variables including number of rooted cuttings, number of roots in each cuttings (NREC), root length (RL), fresh and dry weight (FW and DW) of roots were significant. The interactive effect of fungi species and culture media was also significant on the NRC and NREC. The best and worst rooting media were perlite and sand, respectively. The treatment containing G. mosseae promoted rooting at higher rates compared to the control treatment. In conclusion, medium consisting of perlite and G. mosseae fungi had promising effects on rooting of Schefflera arboricola. So greenhouse owners can use the results of this experiment for propagation of Schefflera.