EFFECT OF SEED TREATMENT WITH AN ENDOMYCORRHIZAL CONSORTIUM ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF Citrus aurantium L. PLANTS

The treatment of Citrus aurantium L. seeds with an endomycorrhizal consortium, originally from the rhizosphere of different species of citrus allowed roots mycorrhization and improvement of all agronomic parameters of the plants resulting from the germination of these seeds following coated seeds germination compared to those of the plants developed from the control seeds. This inoculation method of endomycorrhyzal inoculum efficiently improved plants height (18.5 cm/9,5 cm), collar diameter (0.3 cm/0,1 cm), shoot emission (2/0) and leaves (17/9), root fresh weight (2.4 g/0.3 g) and those of vegetative parts (1.9 g/0.4 g). On the other hand, citrus plant roots derived from treated seeds showed mycorrhizal frequency and intensity of 99.6% and 42.25% respectively, the arbuscular and vesicules contents of the plants roots from mycorrhizal seeds were respectively 43.19% and 0%. Moreover, some AMF species and particularly Gigaspora margarita, Rhizoglomus microaggregatum, Pacispora sp1, Glomus deserticola, Entrophospora kentinensis, Glomus tortuosum, Acaulospora sp1, Acaulospora sp2 were capable to proliferate within the rhizospheric soil of citrus plants subjected to endomycorrhizal inoculum applied as seed coating.