Effects of biochar and arbuscular mycorrhizal on biomass and some nutrients of two ‎parsley varieties

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of biochar and mycorrhizal fungi on growth, plant biomass and some nutrients of two parsley cultivar. A factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with three replications was conducted. The first factor was parsley variety at two levels (crispum and neapolitanum). Application of biochar at three levels (0, three and six percent of soil weight) was used as the second factor. While, application of Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in two levels (mycorrhiza and non mycorrhiza) was considered as the third factor. The results showed that the highest fresh and dry weights of aerial parts (210.218 and 64.8783 gr, respectively) was related to crispum cultivar with applications of mycorrhizal and biochar 3%. The highest fresh and dry weights of root (70.74 and 18.68 gr, respectively) and the highest colonization rate (96%) were observated in neapolitanum cultivar using mycorrhizal and biochar 3%. The highest amount of sodium, potassium, nitrogen and copper was obtained by application of biochar 6%. Mycorrhizal treatmeant also increased the concentration of magnesium, iron, copper and calcium in both neapolitanum and crispum cultivars. Finally, the highest amount of phosphorus (8918.678 ppm) was observed in neapolitanum cultivar with application of mycorrhizal and biochar 6%, while the highest concentration of manganese (50.7296 ppm) was obtained in crispum cultivar using mycorrhizal and biochar 6%. In general, in this study, application of biochar led to better colonization of parsley root with mycorrhizal fungus. Therefore, it can be concluded that the combined use of biochar and mycorrhizal fungi provides better conditions for achieving sustainable agricultural goals and increasing the growth of parsley.