A low cost alternative, using mycorrhiza and organic fertilizer, to optimize the production of foliar bioactive compounds in pomegranates.

AIM

To select the best combination of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and efficient vermicompost dose in maximizing the production of leaf metabolites in Punica granatum seedlings.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The experimental design was in a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement: three inoculation treatments (inoculated with Gigaspora albida, inoculated with Acaulospora longula and control not inoculated) × 3 doses of vermicompost (0, 5 and 7·5%). After 120 days of inoculation, biomolecules, plant growth parameters and mycorrhizal colonization were evaluated. The combination of 7·5% of vermicompost and A. longula was favourable to the accumulation of leaf phenols, with an increase of 116·11% in relation to the non-inoculated control. The total tannins was optimized/enhanced when G. albida and 7·5% of fertilizer were used, registering an increase of 276·71%.

CONCLUSIONS

The application of 7·5% of vermicompost associated with A. longula and G. albida is a low cost alternative to increase the levels of bioactive compounds in pomegranate leaves.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This is the first published report of optimization of bioactive compound production in P. granatum by the combined use of mycorrhiza and vermicompost doses.