Heliconia (Heliconia sp.) and pot gerbera plantlets (Gerbera sp.) obtained by in vitro micropropagation on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium were inoculated with 3 vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza (VAM) species and a mixture of three species. A control treatment without inoculation was also included. The plantlets were acclimated in a mixture of soil 30%, sand 20% and "torta de filtro" 50%. The fungal species were Glomus clarum, Glomus etunicatum and Gigaspora margarita. At 60 days for gerbera and 90 days for heliconia after the inoculation, fresh and dry matter of the aerial and root parts were determined, and the percentage of mycorrhizal colonization of the roots was obtained. Both species behaved different to mycorrhization. Glomus etunicatum did not show to be effective in colonization of heliconia and gerbera. Colonization was high, but heliconia did not benefit from this inoculation, however Gerbera was benefited by G. clarum, G. etunicatum and mixture inoculation.
Heliconia sp.; Gerbera sp.; micropropagation; acclimatization; mycorrhizas
