Evaluation of systemic and contact fungicides effects on symbiosis of Rhizophagus irregularis and vegetative traits of wheat and corn plants

Today, fungicides are widely used to prevent or eradicate a variety of pathogenic fungi, but in some cases their use has destructive effects on beneficial microorganisms such as mycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhizal fungi are among the beneficial microorganisms used in the production of biofertilizers. After mycorrhizal symbiosis, plant features included water and nutrient uptake as well as plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses improve. These microorganisms are also used to control soil pathogens. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of concomitant use of fungicides including benomyl, roralthias, mancozeb and Tilt on the effectiveness of R irregularis in both wheat and corn plants under greenhouse conditions. The experiments were designed as a completely randomized design with five treatments and four replications. The effect of fungicides on the growth characteristics of wheat (Chamran cultivar) and corn (Zeamays, Single Cross 704) and their symbiosis relationship with R. irregularis were investigated. The results showed that the effectiveness of mycorrhizal fungus application was not affected by the concomitant use of fungicides. The application of fungicides also improved some growth characteristics in wheat and corn, although in most cases the differences with the control treatment were not significant. In general, two milliliters per liter of Tilt for wheat and two grams per liter of benomyl for corn can be recommended when using R. irregularis inoculum at the same time