Tamarind monograph.pdf - Crops for the Future

SriVaseeki, 2001). Maksoud et al. (1994), also observed significant
increases in growth parameters and leaf P and K contents when tamarind
seedlings were planted in pots inoculated with VAM and uptake of P and N
is enhanced (Trate and SriVaseeki, 2001). The occurrence of VAM in soils
varies (Gurumurthy and Sreeivasa, 2000; Ishii, 2000) and there may be the
need to inoculate artificially. Inoculating tamarind seed with mycorrhizal
inoculations of Glomus fasciculatum and Pisolithus tinctorius stimulated
plant growth and P and N uptake compared to their non-mycorrhizal (NM)
plants both under water stress and non-stress regimes (Vijaya and Srivasuki,
2001).
Guissou et al. (2001) studied the effects of inoculation with an AM fungus,
Glomus aggregatum on water stress tolerance of four fruit trees including
T. indica L. in a P-deficient soil (2.18 mug/g P-Bray I). Results showed that
G. aggregatum stimulated growth and mineral nutrition of fruit trees but did
not improve their stress tolerance.
Container grown seedlings of several leguminous species including tamarind
were inoculated with three arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF): Glomus
faciculatum, G. mosseae and Gigaspora margarita. Mycorrhizal fungi
colonised differentially on the tree species tested and the overall growth
responses were best for the legumes other than tamarind (Selvaraj et al.,
1996). The response to AM appears be much reduced when compared with
other species of legume.
Functional compatibility between 13 tropical fruit trees - including tamarind
- and two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) G. aggregatum and G.
intraradices was investigated (Ba et al. 2000). Marked differences were
found between them in terms of mycorrhizal formation, root colonisation,
relative mycorrhizal dependency (RMD) and phosphorus concentrations in
shoot tissues. Five of them showed dependency by a positive interaction
with G. aggregatum, the most effective AMF. Tamarind was highly
dependent (50-75% RMD). Phosphorus absorption probably contributed to
this dependency more than the absorption of potassium. These results
indicate that some tropical fruit trees do derive benefits from AM
inoculation, while others do not.
Application of inoculums to the pits before transplanting the seedlings would
therefore be an effective method of introduction of the VAM fungus.
Parameswari et al. (2001 d) found that pelleting tamarind seed with
Azospirillum @ 50 g kg -1 and inoculating with VAM @ 5 g polypot -1
improved the seed germination and growth characters up to three months
and aided in elite seedling production of tamarind.
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