APPLICATION OF MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI IN LANDSCAPE TURFGRASS ESTABLISHMENT UNDER ARID AND SEMIARID ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract

Turf grasses are considered an integral part of landscape ecological systems
worldwide which provide functional, recreational and aesthetic benefits to society
and the environment. In arid and semiarid regions (e.g., Mediterranean region),
turf grass is usually grown under harsh and unfavorable growing conditions with
low rainfall and high rates of evapotranspiration as well as in soils with nutrient
deficiencies. Hence, growing turf grass in these regions becomes dependent on
application of high levels of fertilizers as well as on excessive use of irrigation
water, resulting in an environmental pollution. Therefore, it is important that turf
grass plantations are managed in a sustainable way to reduce the impact of turf
grass cultivation on ecosystems while maintaining healthy and productive turf
through using such practices as mycorrhizal fungi technology. The application of
mycorrhizal fungi technology is an option that can benefit both agronomic plant
health and ecosystems. Mycorrhizae confer numerous benefits to host plants
including improved plant growth, mineral nutrition, water uptake, tolerance to
diseases and stresses such as drought and salinity. The aims of this paper were to
review how mycorrhizal fungi might play a role in enhancing landscape turf
establishment and productivity in arid and semiarid regions and to evaluate the
effectiveness of application of commercial mycorrhizal inoculum to enhance plant
growth and survival under field conditions. Field experiment was conducted to
study the effects of arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) fungi inoculation on water use
efficiency and establishment of a landscape turf. The results showed that turf grass
inoculated with AM fungi used water more efficiently, established lawn more
quickly and had more biomass than uninoculated turf grass. The conclusions of this
paper indicated the potential of mycorrhiza inoculation in improving the fast
establishment of turf landscape plants under arid and semiarid environments.