Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AM), the beneficial microorganisms, increase host plant tolerance to different environmental stresses, which improve plant growth and nutrition. The present study carried out to evaluate the effect of Funneliformis mossier inoculation on liquorice growth under Zn stress during 2018 and 2019 in a factorial completely randomized design with four replications. Inoculated and non-Inoculated plants were subjected to different concentrations of zinc (Control (non-adding zinc), 400, 800 and 1200 mg/kg soil) for 3 months. The results showed that shoot fresh weight, shoot length and leaf area in inoculated plants were higher than non- inoculated plants under different Zn levels. The shoot and root lengths of non- AM plants and shoot, root and total dry weights and root/shoot dry weight ratio of AM plants at Zn400 level significantly increased in comparison with control plants (non-adding zinc) while the highes shoot length of AM plants and shoot, root and total dry weights, root length and leaf area of non- AM plants observed at Zn800 level. In this study, shoot and root fresh weights, shoot and total dry weights, root length and leaf area of AM plants also shoot length of non- AM plants at Zn1200 level significantly decreased in comparison with control plans (non-adding zinc). Overall, our results showed that zinc at levels of Zn400 and Zn800 soil stimulated the growth and at level of Zn1200 decreased growth in liquorice plant. Also, inoculation of liquorice with AM fungus could improve growth parameters related to shoot under different Zn levels. Keywords: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, heavy metal of zinc, liquorice