Identification of Dominant Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Different Rice Ecosystems

Rice is a staple food in Goa. It is cultivated in three different ecosystems, viz, lowland (khazan), midland (ker) and upland (morod). The present investigation was carried out for two consecutive years, i.e., 2015 and 2016 to study the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) and identify the dominant species in the three different rice ecosystems of Goa. The native dominant AM species identified from the study can be further employed for developing AM inocula. The study revealed 17 AM fungal species recorded from the three ecosystems and belonged to six genera, viz., Acaulospora (9), Rhizoglomus (1), Entrophospora (1), Claroideoglomus (2), Funneliformis (1) and Gigaspora (3). There was dominance of different genera in different ecosystems. The genus Acaulospora was abundant in lowlands, genus Gigaspora in midlands and the genus Claroideoglomus in upland fields. This study suggests the possibility of using inocula of the dominant AM species in the respective ecosystems for increased plant growth and yield.