Testing the effectiveness of mycorrhizal bio-pollination as an ecological alternative to fertilizers in the growth of two species of Cucurbitaceae

Abstract

Bio-pollination aims to create a mycorrhizal symbiotic environment based on mutual benefit between the symbionts, especially with originally non-symbiotic plants. C. sativus L. and squash C. pepo L. were selected, which were inoculated in two ways: using soil rich in spores of the symbiont fungus G. intraradices, and the roots of Euphorbia sp. symbiosis with the aforementioned fungus, the growth of the two plants was constantly monitored, and after comparison with the control plants, the results confirmed the high and important effectiveness of bio-pollination in improving the different growth parameters studied in the two plants, albeit in a relatively different way between the two plants, where an increase was observed in the number of leaves, flowers, fruits, leaf area, wet and dry weights. For the aerial and root systems. The dependence of plants on mushrooms was also estimated, which ranged between 22-45% for cucumbers and between 28-37% for zucchini. As for sorrel, its percentage was estimated, which changed between 58 and 60% for zucchini and between 62 and 65% for cucumbers. The results of this study, The results of this study, along with the results of previous studies in this field, confirm the importance of relying on mycorrhizal bio-pollination of cucumber and zucchini in improving growth and production parameters, which opens the door to reducing the use of traditional chemical fertilizers and adopting the idea of ​​bio-pollination as a supplement to chemical fertilizer and a relatively environmental alternative to it.