Efficacy of Indigenous Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Liquid Organic Fertilizer for Promoting the Vegetative Growth of Soybean Plants (Glycine Max L.) on Ultisols

Utilization of ultisols in Southeast Sulawesi may be approached by inoculating viable arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) exposing plant growth-promoting activities to the growth of native economical plants. This study investigated a combination of AMF and liquid organic fertilizers from coconut husks to improve the growth of soybean plants grown on ultisols as one of the potential marginal soils in the region. The coconut husk served as an abundant, cheap, yet potential source for the preparation of liquid organic fertilizers. This study used two factorial design with four treatment levels. The first factor was designed for different AMF species (10 g/pots): control (M0), Acaulospora delicata (M1), Septoglomus constrictum (M2), and Claroideoglomus etunicatum (M3) while the second factor was designed for different concentration of liquid organic fertilizer (mL/pots): control (P0), 150 mL/pots (P1), 200 mL/pots (P2), and 250 mL/pots (P3). Based on ANOVA results, the independent application of AMF species and liquid organic fertilizers gave significant results in regards to the experimental variables such as plant height, number of leaves, leaf area, and stem diameter. The best combination of treatment was observed in the treatment using Septoglomus constrictum with the concentration of liquid organic fertilizer of 250 mL (M2P3) to yield the highest growth performance of soybean plants on ultisols

Isolation and Identification of Potential Bio-Inoculants Based on Phosphate Solubilizing Molds From Different Plant Rhizospheres

In crop production, phosphorus (P) is the second most important limiting nutrient. However, due to precipitation reactions with Al3+, Fe3+ in acidic soil, or Ca2+ in alkaline soil, its availability in soil is severely limited. Microbes have recently been proposed as a means of increasing the bioavailability of soil phosphate for plants. The goal of this research was to isolate and identify phosphate solubilizing molds (PSM) from various plant rhizospheres, including gadung (Dioscorea hispida Dennst), maize (Zea mays L.), bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper), pineapple (Ananas comosus L.), and banana (Ananas indica L.). PSM was isolated in vitro and then diluted using the dilution plate technique with Pikovskaya's solid medium. Five colonies were confirmed as PSM, namely Talaromyces aculeatus, Metarhizium anisopliae, Fusarium proliferatum, Mucor hiemalis, and Aspergillus Niger, out of fourteen colonies formed from those rhizospheres. In the PVK solid medium, these isolates were capable of solubilizing insoluble P with a solubility range of 2.05 to 3.03. Talaromyces aculeatus (125.6 mg L-1), Metarhizium anisopliae (80.76 mg L-1) and Fusarium proliferatum (41.59 mg L-1) were the best P solubilizers, followed by Mucor hiemalis (9.51 mg L-1), and Aspergillus Niger (7.85 mg L-1), respectively. The bioinoculants Talaromyces aculeatus and Metarhizium anisopliae had the most potential. Keywords: Dendrocalamus asper, Molds, Phosphate, Rhizosphere, Solubilize