Efficiency of Certain Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Rhizosphere Bacterium Treatments on the Incidence of Corn Stem Borers Infestation

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Plant Protection, Dept., Fac. Agric., Saba-Basha, Alex., Univ.

2 Agric. Botany Dept., Agricultural Microbiology, Fac. Agric., Saba-Basha, Alex., Univ.

Abstract

Two field experiments were carried out at the experimental farm of Faculty of Agriculture (Saba-Basha), Alexandria University, at Abees region, Alexandria, Egypt, during two subsequent seasons of 2009 / 2010 and 2010 / 2011 to evaluate the treatment of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and rhizosphere bacterium in addition to two current types of organic and mineral fertilizers on the lignin content in stems treated corn plants and the incidence of corn stem borers infestation.
The obtained results, showed lower mean values of inspected stem borers larvae accompanied by higher value of lignin content in the stems of inoculated corn plants with the endomycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices (G3) plus the rhizosphere bacterium Bacillus mycoides, in comparison to the uninoculated control in both current types of the adopted above mentioned fertilization.
The fact was ascertained by the deduced correlated values of determined lignin content in stem of corn plant for the detected levels of stem borers infestation however they showed a strong negative relationship values (r= -0.82 ± 0.12 & r= - 0.80 ± 0.12) between them in case of both current normal tested  types of the used fertilization. Though this detected negative relationship elucidates that when the lignin content in stem of corn plant increases, the infestation of stem borers decreases.