This study aimed to evaluate the Australian red cedar seedlings for their ability to growth, nutrition and production of phenolic compounds under arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation. An experiment was carried out under greenhouse conditions, with three treatments consisting of Gigaspora margarita, Glomus etunicatum, Glomus clarum in single inoculation, and four treatments composed by the combination of these species, Gigaspora margarita +Glomus clarum, Gigaspora margarita + Glomus etunicatum, Glomus clarum + Glomus etunicatum and Gigaspora margarita + Glomus etunicatum + Glomus clarum. All treatments with the fungal inoculum were evaluated without addition of phosphorus in the substrate. In comparison, three treatment controls were used (without fungus) containing three levels of phosphorus: 0, 50 and 100 mg dm-3, performing ten treatments. The experimental design was in random blocks with five replicates. After 140 days of germination, it was observed that all species of AMF inoculated alone or in combination, led to significant benefits on growth, nutrition and production of phenolic compounds in Australian red cedar seedlings in soils containing low phosphorus availability. The mixture in the soil of Gigaspora margarita, Glomus etunicatum and Glomus clarum was able to provide significant increases in plant growth in most parameters assessed, resulting in performance equivalent or higher than non-mycorrhizal and control plants grown in soil fertilized with phosphorus. This suggests that AMF can promote reduction in phosphorus addition during the production of Australian red cedar seedlings.
Australian red cedar; Gigaspora margarita; Glomus etunicatum; Glomus clarum