PERTANIKA JOURNAL OF TROPICAL AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

By improving the nutrient uptake and transport, an indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) is expected to improve crops’performance in sandy drylands of North Lombok (Indonesia) during dry seasons. A field experiment was designed with Randomized Complete Block Design and four replications to examine the benefits of mycorrhiza at varying doses of plant nutrition (nitrogen and phosphorus). Total of 1 kg of the AMF inoculum was applied to 20 kg maize seeds in different fertilization packages of cattle manure (15, 12, 9 and 6 ton/ha) and inorganic fertilizers (80, 60, 40 and 20% NPK recommended dose). A 100% NPK recommended dose was used as the control (200 kg/ ha Phonska and 300 kg/ha Urea). After harvest of maize at 100 days after seeding (DAS) and field cleaning from maize debris, sorghum seeds were then planted in cropping cycle 2 with no additional fertilization and inoculum. Results indicated that the AMF applications to the maize-sorghum cropping sequence increased the AMF colonization rate, soil N and P status and uptake, and dry biomass (root, shoot, and grain). The highest correspondence was observed in the crops which utilized a combination of 60% NPK and 12 ton/ ha cattle manure, and the performance was higher at 100 days after seeding. The number of AMF spores increased over the time where colonization rates were found higher in roots of sorghum (60-81%) than maize (55-75%). This study suggests that AMF inoculation increases the plant yield and improves soil nutrient availability which is very advantageous for the growth of the maize-sorghum subsequent crop in Lombok’s drylands.