ABSTRACT
Association between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Pratylenchus brachyurus in maize crop

Olivia Diulen Costa Brito1, Isabela Hernandes2, Júlio César Antunes Ferreira3, Michelly Ragazzi Cardoso4, Odair Alberton5, and Claudia Regina Dias-Arieira4*
 
Maize (Zea mays L.) is one crop of major relevance in Brazil; however, nematodes are limiting factors in maize growth and productivity due to the difficulty to control them. Studies point out that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) increase plant tolerance to nematodes. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the association between AMFs and Pratylenchus brachyurus in maize growth. Six AMF species (Rhizophagus clarus, Claroideoglomus etunicatum, Gigaspora rosea, G. margarita, Scutellospora calospora, S. heterogama), as well as a control treatment free of mycorrhizae, were assessed under two different nematode inoculum conditions (presence and absence). Plants were collected and analyzed 60 d after inoculation. The nematode population was higher in the treatments inoculated with AMFs. On the other hand, just the plants inoculated with R. clarus did not present improved development in comparison to the control. Nematodes increased AMF spore density, but despite the fact that AMFs have presented different root colonization capacity (ranging from 2.3% to 95.0%), such capacity was not affected by the nematodes.
Keywords: Management, mycorrhizal, root-lesion nematode, Zea mays.
1Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná, Pós Graduação em Agronomia, Estrada Pernambuco 1777, Marechal Cândido Rondon, Paraná, Brasil. *Corresponding author (odc.brito@gmail.com).
2Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Pós Graduação em Agronomia, Avenida Colombo 5790, Maringá, Paraná, Brasil.
3Universidade Paulista “Júlio Mesquita Filho”, Campus de Botucatu, Pós Graduação em Agronomia, Fazenda Lageado, Avenida Universidade 3780, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brasil.
4Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Pós Graduação em Ciências Agrárias, Estrada da Paca, Umuarama, Paraná, Brasil.
5Universidade Paranaense Programa de Pós-Graduação Str