The production of inoculum of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) Glomus clarum and G. etunicatum in soil and aeroponic culture was evaluated in a greenhouse. The experiment design was in a factorial arrangement of 2 × 2 × 5, representing: 2 inoculation treatments (Glomus clarum and G. etunicatum) × 2 culture systems (soil and aeroponic) × 5 evaluation periods (0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 days), with 5 replicates. Shoots of sweet potato, disinfested with sodium hypochlorine, were planted in 120 pots with sterilized soil + vermiculite. Half of the plants was inoculated with 50 spores of G. clarum and the remaining 60 ones, with 50 spores of G. etunicatum. After 64 days, half of the plants was transferred to aeroponic chambers (one for each fungus) with nutrient solution, applied through micro aspersion during 1' and intervals of 3'. Root colonization and production of spores were evaluated in 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 days. G. clarum promoted extensive root colonization, when compared to G. etunicatum, while the production of spores was similar between both. Higher levels of colonization and sporulation were obtained in the soil culture, with the best cultivation period after 60 days, independently of the fungus. Although in general higher inoculum production was obtained in soil, the aeroponic system is also promising, mostly if the AMF is maintained for 90 days of growth.
Colonization; endomycorrhizal fungi; Glomales; Glomus; sporulation
