Maize (
Zea mays
L.) is one crop of major relevance in Brazil; however, nematodes are limiting factors in maize growth
and productivity due to the difficulty to control them. Studies point out that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) increase
plant tolerance to nematodes. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the association between AMFs and
Pratylenchus
brachyurus in maize growth. Six AMF species (
Rhizophagus clarus
,
Claroideoglomus etunicatum
,
Gigaspora rosea
,
G.
margarita,
Scutellospora calospora
,
S. heterogama), as well as a control treatment free of mycorrhizae, were assessed
under two different nematode inoculum conditions (presence and absence). Plants were collected and analyzed 60 d after
inoculation. The nematode population was higher in the treatments inoculated with AMFs. On the other hand, just the
plants inoculated with
R. clarus did not present improved development in comparison to the control. Nematodes increased
AMF spore density, but despite the fact that AMFs have presented different root colonization capacity (ranging from 2.3%
to 95.0%), such capacity was not affected by the nematodes.
