Investigation on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) associated with Crocus sativus in Khorasan Razavi and Southern Khorasan provinces (north east of Iran)

Iran is the largest producer of saffron (Crocus sativus) in the world. More than 80% of higher plant species have a mutual relationship with mycorrhizal fungi, which enhances the plant growth and its productivity. With identification of native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and their application, it could be possible to expand saffron cultivated area and increase the performance of arable lands. In the present study, native AMF species associated with saffron roots in Khorasan Razavi and Southern Khorasan provinces (north east of Iran), and nine species of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, viz., Claroideoglomus claroideum, C. etunicatum, Corymbiglomus tortuosum, Funneliformis caledonius, F. geosporum, F. mosseae,Paraglomus albidum, Rhizophagus aggregatus and R. manihotis were identified which are all newly recorded for saffron mycoflora of Iran. Rhizophagus manihotis and F. mosseae were the most frequent species in all soil samples. Although, the maximum plants and fungal growth and root colonization usually take place in spring, but in case of saffron, results showed that, this happened in autumn which indicates, the fungus has adapted itself to host plant life cycle. On the other hand, correlation coefficient between spore population and root colonization was very low for Torbat specimens, which could be related to other factors e.g. environmental and geographical conditions.