The affect of inoculation with arbuscular mycorhizal fungi on yield and quality of potato under drought stress

Water scarcity in arid and semi-arid looking like Iran country, including one of the factors limiting the growth and yield of crops. That's why finding suitable solutions for overcoming on stress and increased production of special importance. To study the effect of inoculation with mycorhizal fungi on yield and quality of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) under drought stress a factorial experiment with randomized complete block design and three replications was performed in greenhouse of Soil Science Department, University of Zanjan, Iran. In this experiment, potato tubers were cultivated in boxes with sandy loam soils. The factors which studied were, four levels of drought stress (FC, 80% of FC, 60% of FC and 40% of FC) and four levels of mycorrhizal fungi (no-inoculation (control), inoculation with Glomus intraradices, inoculation with Glomus mosseae and a combination of them). In this experiment yield and yield components of potato and concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium in leaf and tuber were measured. The results of analysis of variance of data showed that the effects of drought stress and mycorrhizal fungi were significant on all measured traits. The drought stress decreased all measured traits except the nitrogen concentrations of potato leaf and tuber. Application of mycorrhizal fungi increased the yield and yield components of potato and concentrations of plant nutrients in plant. The overall results showed that application of mycorrhizal fungi can decrease the adverse effects of drought stress on potato plant. The highest yield of potato at the rate of 4.87 Kg per square meter of 100% of field capacity moisture and inoculated with the fungus G. Mosse, respectively.