Robustness of Soil Phosphorus Availability, Nutrient Dynamics, and Shallot Vegetative Growth Through Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) Inoculation

Abstract

Phosphorus (P) is an essential plant nutrient and one of the most limiting in natural habitats as well as in agricultural production worldwide. Here, we present the experiment between shallot crops, AMF inoculated and without inoculation, to examine the impacts of the AMF symbiosis on soil phosphorus availability, nutrient dynamics, growth, and biomass. We used a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with 5 (Five) replicates. The findings show that AMF enhances Phosphorus availability, total Potassium, and C-organic matter, while not affecting total Nitrogen in the soil. The application of mycorrhiza significantly enhanced soil phosphorus availability, increasing from 30.56 ppm in non-inoculated soils to 40.81 ppm with mycorrhizal treatment, equivalent to an improvement of approximately 33%. Furthermore, AMF inoculation has affected the growth and biomass of shallots in the vegetative stage. The results revealed a significant growth-promoting effect of mycorrhizal fungi, with plant height increasing by ~23.7% (from 38.60 to 47.70 cm) and biomass nearly doubling, showing an increase of ~75.2% (from 18.15 to 31.78 g). Therefore, the utilization of AMF in Shallot cultivation is important for nutrient dynamics and vegetative growth.