Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 December 2010
Introduction. Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) belongs tothe Fabaceae family; it is a multipurpose tree with slow growth. In order to help improveits growth and development, we assessed mycorrhizal diversity of tamarind parklands inSenegal. Materials and methods. Three sites of tamarind populations weresampled for each agro-ecological zone in Senegal: the Sahelian zone (i), Sahelo-Sudan zone(ii) and Sudan zone (iii). Soil and root samples were collected in each site and used forarbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) spore isolation and root colonization assessment. Weidentified the mycorrhizal fungi from spore collections and evaluated the rootmycorrhization rate, defined as percentage of roots colonized according to agro-ecologicalzones. Results and discussion. The results did not reveal a specific AMfungal strain associated with tamarind plants. Three arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)were identified from spores on the genus level: Glomus,Scutellospora and Acaulospora. Tamarind sites withsandy soil texture (70–90%) and located in dry areas (Sahel and Sudano-Sahel zones) wereshown to be rich in mycorrhizal propagules. High densities of soil AM propagules evaluatedwith the Most Probable Number method (MPN) were found in Niokhoul (1100 propagules per 50g of soil), Sakal (790 propagules per 50 g of soil) and Mbassis (780 propagules per 50 gof soil). However, higher mycorrhizal colonization (11%) was observed in the Sahelagro-ecological zone compared with the Sudano-Sahelian and Sahelian zones (3%) of Senegal.Conclusion. Our study explored natural AMF diversity as a starting point todevelop inocula to be used in commercial nursery production of tamarinds.