title: Responses of Guava Plants to Inoculation with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi in Soil Infested with Meloidogyne enterolobii.
abstract: In the Northeast of Brazil, expansion of guava crops has been impaired by Meloidogyne enterolobii that causes root galls, leaf fall and plant death. Considering the fact that arbuscular mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) improve plant growth giving protection against damages by plant pathogens, this work was carried out to select AMF efficient to increase production of guava seedlings and their tolerance to M. enterolobii. Seedlings of guava were inoculated with 200 spores of Gigaspora albida, Glomus etunicatum or Acaulospora longula and 55 days later with 4,000 eggs of M. enterolobii. The interactions between the AMF and M. enterolobii were assessed by measuring leaf number, aerial dry biomass, CO2 evolution and arbuscular and total mycorrhizal colonization. In general, plant growth was improved by the treatments with A. longula or with G. albida. The presence of the nematode decreased arbuscular colonization and increased general enzymatic activity. Higher dehydrogenase activity occurred with the A. longula treatment and CO2 evolution was higher in the control with the nematode. More spores and higher production of glomalin-related soil proteins were observed in the treatment with G. albida. The numbers of galls, egg masses and eggs were reduced in the presence of A. longula. Inoculation with this fungus benefitted plant growth and decreased nematode reproduction.
authors.affiliation: UPE (Universidade de Pernambuco) Campus Petrolina, BR 203, Km 2, 56300-000, Petrolina, PE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Maryluce Albuquerque da Silva
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.affiliation: UPE (Universidade de Pernambuco) Campus Petrolina, BR 203, Km 2, 56300-000, Petrolina, PE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Fábio Sérgio Barbosa
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: UNIVASF (Fundação Universidade Federal do Vale do São Francisco), Petrolina, PE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Adriana Mayumi
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Yano-Melo
authors.affiliation: EMBRAPA SEMI-ÁRIDO (Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária), Petrolina, PE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Natoniel Franklin
authors.initials: NF
authors.lastname: de Melo
authors.affiliation: UFRPE (Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco), Recife, PE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Elvira Maria Régis
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Pedrosa
authors.affiliation: UFPE (Universidade Federal de Pernambuco), Recife, PE, Brasil.
authors.forename: Leonor Costa
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Maia
keywords: Psidium guajava; enzymatic activity; glomeromycota; root knot