**2. Distribution of AM fungi in forestry**

Forests play a progressively more crucial role in gathering the demand for timber and ecological protection, nearly 25% (one fourth) of India's total land area is now under forest land and tree cover. The diminishing soil quality is the main warning to sustainable forest management, mostly in planted forests. Microorganisms show significant functions in soil formation, aggregation nutrient cycling, nutrient uptake, and reclamation of ecosystems [15]. The arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) form symbiotic associations by the plant roots of more than 80% of plants [16], and they play a crucial role in the successful organization and maintenance of plant communities [17]. AMF hyphae can add phosphorous (P), which cannot be absorbed by root hairs, and the AMF soil mycelial arrangement provides many profits to host plants [18] as well as plant growth promotion [19, 20] and development of plant resistance to abiotic stress and disease [21]. Additionally, AM fungi can be favorable to soil aggregation as the outcome of the activities of hyphae and glomalin protein secretion [22] therefore, the incidence and colonization of AM fungi would be helpful to the survival of forest seedlings and the sustainable managing of forests. Furthermore, the AM fungal species associated with plant species have elucidated different functions to host plants and influences on the distribution, diversity, and restoration of plant community [23]. The diversity of AM fungi is significantly important to forest ecosystems and can be important for plant community and productivity [24, 25]. Though, information about the diversity of AMF associated with tree species in forest plants is inadequate. It is a known fact the AM fungi are extensive in different ecosystems, and their colonization and spore propagules are also affected by soil physicochemical characteristics [26]. The abiotic factors could influence on root colonization and fungal spore population.

The AM fungi colonization and spore commune compositions in the rhizosphere of the tree species were estimated. The outcome of this study would provide close on the utilization and supervision of AM fungi to keep sustainable management of forests [27].

#### **2.1 Forest soils**

**Table 2** reveals that AM fungal spore population was found highest in Kothagudem soil of *Albizia lebbeck*, while it was lowest in Godavarikhani soils of *Acacia nilotica*. The AM fungal spore population range was varying in the rhizosphere soils of Kothagudem followed by Yellendu, Bhopalpally, and Kothagudem. On other hand, rhizosphere soil showed a great variation in the incidence of different AM fungi both qualitatively and quantitatively. *Glomus* species was dominating in all the rhizosphere soils, followed by *Gigaspora* species was recorded highest in the rhizosphere of *Acacia nilotica* of Bhopalpally soil and it was least in Kothagudem. Similarly, *Sclerocystis* species was found highest in Kothagudem soil of *Acacia nilotica*, while it was least in Godavarikhani soil of *Acacia nilotica*. *Acaulospora* species was recorded highest in Bhupalpally and it was lowest in Godavarikhani soil. No *Acaulospora* species was observed in Godavarikhani and Yellandu the soils of *Albizia lebbeck*. *Scutellospora* was least in Godavarikhani and Bhupalpally soils. In the rhizosphere soils of the analyzed tree species, bountiful spore numbers, and high decent varieties of AMF species were found (**Figure 1**) [28].



**101**

**2.2 Coal mine soils**

*Isolation and selection of AM fungi for host plant.*

**Figure 1.**

**Table 3** results showed that AM spore number in rhizosphere soil was studied in different Coal mine sites of North Telangana. The results are depicted that AM spore population was observed in two different plant species. AMF root colonization is presented in **Figure 2**, highest root colonization was recorded in the Kothagudem sample of *Albizia lebbeck*, while it was a significantly higher level of AM fungal spore population was also seen in the same sample. The lowest colonization was found in *Acacia nilotica* of Godavarikhani, but the moderate spore population was observed. The lowest level of mycorrhizal colonization was found in Godavarikhani and Bhopallpally rhizosphere samples of *Albizia lebbeck* and *Acacia nilotica* respectively. However, the AM fungal spore population incidence varies. The highest AM fungal spore population was recorded in Kothagudem soil followed by Bhopalpally and the same trend was observed in Godavarikhani and Yellandu. The AM fungal spore population varied from species to species. *Glomus* species was dominated in all the rhizosphere soil samples of two plants. Past investigations have additionally detailed *Glomus* and *Acaulospora* to be the dominant genera in different woods [26, 29]. *Gigaspora* species was highest in the rhizosphere of *Albizia lebbeck* of Kothagudem, while it was significantly lowest in Yellandu soils followed by *Sclerocystis, Acaulospora,* and *Scutellospora*. Similarly, *Acaulospora* species was found highest in the rhizosphere of *Albizia lebbeck* of Bhopalpally. *Sclerocystis* species was found highest in Kothagudem soils, while it was lowest in Bhopalpally soils. *Scutellospora* spore incidence was observed more in the rhizosphere of *Acacia nilotica* than *A.lebbeck*, but it was found less number in other samples. Interestingly, No *Scutellospora* species was recorded in the rhizosphere

of *Albizia lebbeck* in Godavarikhani soil as shown in **Table 4**.

Some AM fungi react diversely to soil disturbances, for instance, Hart and Reader [30] identified that species from the suborder Glomineae were substantially

*Mycorrhizae Applications in Sustainable Forestry DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.94580*

*Mycorrhizae Applications in Sustainable Forestry DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.94580*

**Figure 1.**

*Mycorrhizal Fungi - Utilization in Agriculture and Forestry*

**100**

**Location** Kothagudem

Bhupalpally Godavarikhani

Yellandu

**Table 2.**

*Incidence of AM fungi in two Agroforestry tree species of four forest sites of North Telangana. Forest soils.*

*A.lebbeck* *A.nilotica* *A.lebbeck* *A.nilotica* *A.lebbeck* *A.nilotica* *A.lebbeck* *A.nilotica*

155.0 ± 1.53

92.7 ± 1.45 106.7 ± 1.20 137.0 ± 1.73 82.3 ± 0.88 63.7 ± 1.45 98.2 ± 0.33 118.7 ± 1.45

**Plant species**

**Cumulative spore number**

*Glomus*

98 63 76 72 48 39 57 80

15

10

23

18

—

7

13

8

16

12

—

3

—

—

6

35

16

9

12

9

6

12

11

6

21

*Gigaspora*

*Sclerocystis*

32

*Aculospora*

4

*Scutellospora*

—

—

3

5

6

**Individual spore incidence**

*Isolation and selection of AM fungi for host plant.*

#### **2.2 Coal mine soils**

**Table 3** results showed that AM spore number in rhizosphere soil was studied in different Coal mine sites of North Telangana. The results are depicted that AM spore population was observed in two different plant species. AMF root colonization is presented in **Figure 2**, highest root colonization was recorded in the Kothagudem sample of *Albizia lebbeck*, while it was a significantly higher level of AM fungal spore population was also seen in the same sample. The lowest colonization was found in *Acacia nilotica* of Godavarikhani, but the moderate spore population was observed. The lowest level of mycorrhizal colonization was found in Godavarikhani and Bhopallpally rhizosphere samples of *Albizia lebbeck* and *Acacia nilotica* respectively. However, the AM fungal spore population incidence varies. The highest AM fungal spore population was recorded in Kothagudem soil followed by Bhopalpally and the same trend was observed in Godavarikhani and Yellandu. The AM fungal spore population varied from species to species. *Glomus* species was dominated in all the rhizosphere soil samples of two plants. Past investigations have additionally detailed *Glomus* and *Acaulospora* to be the dominant genera in different woods [26, 29]. *Gigaspora* species was highest in the rhizosphere of *Albizia lebbeck* of Kothagudem, while it was significantly lowest in Yellandu soils followed by *Sclerocystis, Acaulospora,* and *Scutellospora*. Similarly, *Acaulospora* species was found highest in the rhizosphere of *Albizia lebbeck* of Bhopalpally. *Sclerocystis* species was found highest in Kothagudem soils, while it was lowest in Bhopalpally soils. *Scutellospora* spore incidence was observed more in the rhizosphere of *Acacia nilotica* than *A.lebbeck*, but it was found less number in other samples. Interestingly, No *Scutellospora* species was recorded in the rhizosphere of *Albizia lebbeck* in Godavarikhani soil as shown in **Table 4**.

Some AM fungi react diversely to soil disturbances, for instance, Hart and Reader [30] identified that species from the suborder Glomineae were substantially



**103**

by spores.

**Table 4.**

**Figure 2.**

*Bhopallaly, YLD-Yellandhu.*

*Albizia lebbeck*

*Acacia nilotica*

1 *Glomus fasciculatum (Rhizophagus fasciculatum)*

2 *Glomus aggregatum (Rhizophagus aggregatus)*

1 *Glomus fasciculatum (Rhizophagus fasciculatum)*

2 *Glomus aggregatum (Rhizophagus aggregatus)*

**S. No Treatments Root** 

less tough to soil disturbances than species from the suborder Gigasporineae, likely because of the qualities of either colonizing plant roots generally by hyphae or

*Screening of* Albizia lebbeck *and* Acacia nilotica *for efficient strains of AM fungi.*

 *Gigaspora gigantea* 69.6 154.2 156.1 139.2 0.41 0.29 *Acaulospora foveata* 50.4 120.2 136.2 99.3 0.25 0.16 *Sclerocystis sp.* 37.6 97.0 111.2 84.5 0.32 0.22 *Control* — 68.8 72.8 59.1 0.22 0.12

*Percentage of root colonization in two different soil types. KDM-Kothagudem, GDK- Godavarikhani, BPL-*

**Height of plant (cm)**

 *Gigaspora gigantea* 50.2 83.2 111.1 86.2 0.36 0.16 *Acaulospora foveata* 52.4 96.6 128.3 110.6 0.26 0.18 *Sclerocystis sp.* 39.7 86.5 98.2 65.3 0.14 0.10 *Control* — 76.0 90.0 62.4 0.32 0.15

**Biomass (g)**

**Fresh wt.**

72.6 112.1 125.2 108.8 0.36 0.12

76.4 120.2 142.6 116.3 0.42 0.38

70.0 160.1 168.1 141.9 0.46 0.34

62.4 148.9 152.6 133.6 0.32 0.27

**Dry wt.**

**Phosphorus (mg/g)**

**Shoot Root**

**colonization (%)**

*Mycorrhizae Applications in Sustainable Forestry DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.94580*

*Mycorrhizae Applications in Sustainable Forestry DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.94580*

#### **Figure 2.**

*Mycorrhizal Fungi - Utilization in Agriculture and Forestry*

**102**

**Location** Kothagudem OCS

Bhupalpally

OCS

Godavarikhani

OCS

Yellandu

OCS

**Table 3.**

*A.lebbeck* *A.nilotica* *A.lebbeck* *A.nilotica* *A.lebbeck* *A.nilotica* *A.lebbeck* *A.nilotica*

79.7 ± 1.45 61.3 ± 1.76 55.7 ± 2.33 63.3 ± 0.88 73.0 ± 1.73 48.7 ± 1.20 53.7 ± 1.45 44.3 ± 0.88 *Incidence of AM Fungi in two Agroforestry tree species of four coal mine Opencast sites(OCS) of North Telangana.*

**Plant species**

**Cumulative spore number**

*Glomus*

31 26 33 29 44 17 29 15

13

10

4

2

10

7

5

15

6

6

14

10

5

—

4

2

12

10

9

3

11

4

5

15

9

6

26

11

8

*Gigaspora*

*Sclerocystis*

*Aculospora*

*Scutellospora*

3

4

2

**Individual spore incidence**

*Percentage of root colonization in two different soil types. KDM-Kothagudem, GDK- Godavarikhani, BPL-Bhopallaly, YLD-Yellandhu.*


#### **Table 4.**

*Screening of* Albizia lebbeck *and* Acacia nilotica *for efficient strains of AM fungi.*

less tough to soil disturbances than species from the suborder Gigasporineae, likely because of the qualities of either colonizing plant roots generally by hyphae or by spores.

**Figure 2** shows the highest root colonization in the rhizosphere of *Albizia lebbeck* of Yellendu, while it was least in Bhopalpally soil. The percentage of root colonization was significantly varied with the type of soil. AM colonization was recorded moderately in the soil of Godavarikhani. No correlation could be observed between AM colonization and the spore population.

#### **3. AM fungal inoculum development**

AMF resting spores collected by stereo binocular microscope were surface sterilized with 200 ppm streptomycin for 15 min and washed in sterile distilled water for several times. The starter culture was prepared by soil funnel techniques [31]. A glass funnel was filled (3/4th) with autoclaved soil and sand (1:1) and the neck was loosely plugged with cotton wool. The funnel was kept over a conical flask (filled with sterile water). Spores were spread near the neck and covered with a thin layer of soil. Seeds of *Pennisetum glaucum* (surface-sterilized) were evenly sown and watered (sterile). After 10–15 days, the roots can be seen sprouting from the neck. Meanwhile, they get infected by AMF spores at the neck. After 25 days, roots were examined for root colonization.

When an adequate amount of growth was obtained by frequent sowing of seeds, this inoculum was transferred into small plastic pots filled with sand and soil (2:1) and mixed uniformly. Pots were transferred to the greenhouse and seeds of *Zea maize* and *Pennisetum glaucum* were sown. Pots were watered now and then with Hoagland nutrient solution without phosphorus and placed under uniform daylight. At the time of flowering of plants, the upper shoot system was cut off and fresh seeds were sown. After 2–3 months, the roots were mixed with soil and employed as inoculum for further experiments. **Figure 1** explains the isolation and screening of AM fungi for the selected host plants.

### **4. Screening of AM fungal species for efficiency**

The effect of native AM fungi on the mycorrhizal intensity in terms of root colonization and spore number in rhizospheric soil of *Albizia lebbeck* and *Acacia nilotica* has been presented in **Table 4** respectively. In the comparative studies, all the *Glomus* species showed a significant difference in colonization.

Biomass of treated plants in the form of fresh weight recorded in *Albizia lebbeck* (*A.l)* and *Acacia nilotica* (*A.n)* is ranging from 90.0 to 142.6 g and 72.8 to 168.1 g, respectively. Likewise, root/shoot dry weight ranging from 62.4 to 116.3 g and 59.1 to 141.9 g, respectively, at the time of growth in the transplanted site. Minimum root/shoot growth was recorded in control plants. In comparison to control, all other treated plants showed the highest root/shoot growth. The maximum root/ shoot growth of *Albizia lebbeck* (142.6 g) was recorded in *Glomus/Rhizophagus aggregatus* treatment. In *Acacia nilotica* (168.1), the highest growth was observed in *Glomus fasiculatum* and followed by *Gigaspora gigantea.*

In this study, all the five treatments gave the best results when compared with control (non inoculated tree species) *Glomus/Rhizophagus aggregatus* supports *Albizia lebbeck* showed the highest root colonization and helps the plants to uptake the nutrients such as root/shoot Phosphorus content (0.42/0.38 mg/g). In *Acacia nilotica* the highest shoot/root phosphorus content (0.46/0.34 mg/g) showed by treatment with *Glomus fasiculatum*.

Among all the five monoculture treatments *Glomus/Rhizophagus fasciculatum* and *Rhizophagus aggregatus* gave the best plant growth in all the parameters records plant height, biomass, and Phosphorus content. In this study percentage of AMF root colonization is directly proportional to the biomass and phosphorus content.

**105**

*Mycorrhizae Applications in Sustainable Forestry DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.94580*

The use of NPK fertilizers to enhance crop plant production include fertilization is specified to the soil and liquid forms of NPK that are sprayed on top of crop plants. In this time, plants are mostly fulfilled by giving solid fertilizers containing macronutrients, especially N inorganic continuously and without pains to restore the nutrients and absorb the essential elements with plants and causing the decrease of soil fertility [32, 33]. The use of extreme fertilizer is a waste of money and disturbs the stability of nutrients in the soil and increases environmental pollution [34, 35]. To improve the crop productivity and quality of outcome is required to be useful by reasonable fertilizer influences as a result that the proportion of nutrient absorption by plants is balanced and use of one type of fertilizer based on site-specific suggested doses [36]. The site-specific nutrient considers the potential of soils to give usual nutrients recovery [37]. To develop the nutrient status in the soil which administers the N-inorganic fertilizers in the required amounts of P, and K fertilizers are essential to increase crop

The compound fertilizers are containing the mineral elements, which need for the successful growth and development of plants. Mineral elements are necessary for optimal doses. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium have enormous effects on plant growth and development. The deficiencies results indicate clear effects on the growth and yield of the crop plants. Nitrogen is a chlorophyll element, which promotes green color and vegetative growth of plants [44]. In agricultural systems, the most important crop nutrients are nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) [37].

Nitrogen fertilizing doses increase the protein levels and crop plant biomass, but the completion of N elements only without P and K will cause plants to simply drop, very sensitive to pest attacks disease, and reduced the quality of crop production [38]. Phosphorus nutrients in the soil absorbed by plants will be supported by P elements specified during fertilization [39]. Nutrient uptake of N, P, and K plants increases with an increasing dosage level of K fertilizer. Potassium is an important component involved in maintaining plant water conditions; it is responsible for regulating stomata opening and closing activities [40]. The multiple inorganic fertilizers added to plants can be either solid form or liquid. The spray of liquid fertilizer to the plants can play a role in improving the properties of the soil and supporting to enhance crop production [41, 42]. The application of liquid inorganic

fertilizers is to make it an easy and efficient use of fertilizers by crop plants.

DAP + *G.f.* +Rhizobium sp.**(F)**, Control+ SS+ *Rhizobium sp*.**(G).**

**on the growth of two forest trees**

**6. Effect of agrochemicals on interactions of Rhizobium and AM fungi** 

Different combination of agrochemicals (Captan, Sevin, TCP, Urea, 2, 4-D, DAP) along with Rhizobium and AM fungi were inoculated to test plants combinations are as follows Captan + *Glomus fasiculatum (G.f.)* **(A)**, Sevin + *G.f.***(B)**, TCP + *G.f*.**(C)**, Urea + *G.f.* + *Rhizobium sp*.**(D)**, 2,4-D+ *G.f.* + *Rhizobium sp*.**(E)**,

AM fungal infection was maximum in plants receiving treatment of E followed by D and F in descending order, while it was low in plants receiving treatment of A and B (**Table 5**). The spore population also increased in the presence of C, D, and F. Treatments C and D, promoted the plant growth. However, E promoted the maximum height followed by F and D plants, while it was least in B treated plants. Similarly, the treatment of E stimulated nodulation and biomass production. On the other hand, F and D influenced nodulation to an intermediate degree. The addition of tricalcium phosphate adversely affected growth-promoting activity. The degree of nodulation

**5. NPK fertilizers**

production.
