ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL SYMBIOSIS AND SOURCES OF ORGANIC MATTER ON THE GROWTH OF Carica papaya L.

The pre-transplant mycorrhization of vegetable species that require nursery stage can provide economic benefits to farmers by reducing the use of fertilizers and pesticides. On the other hand, compost from some agro-industrial wastes could be added to the farming soil as organic fertilizer, alone or in combination with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in favor of sustainable agriculture. Papaya responds positively to inoculation with AMF and its study has been addressed from multiple approaches, highlighting ecological studies and works that show the importance of mycorrhizing in the nursery before transplanting to the field. In order to determine the effect of two sources of organic matter on the interaction papaya-AMF, two composts were used: sugar cane sludge and coffee pulp. The evaluated AMF were Glomus sp. Zac-2 and Glomus aggregatum FS-39. A bifactorial experiment 3x3 was established. The factors and levels studied were mycorrhization (without AMF, Zac-2 and FS39) and soil mixture (sludge, pulp and soil). The two strains of AMF promoted plant growth in the mixtures called soil and pulp, with increases in plant height and root dry weight above 300 and 3000% respectively after 105 days after transplantation and inoculation. However, in the sludge mixture, plants with and without mycorrhizing showed similar growth.