Research Article

The Impact of Applying Phosphorus and Mycorrhiza on the Morphological Parameters of Cotton Roots and Shoots, as well as Their Phosphorus Uptake and Dry Matter Yield

Mehmet IŞIK^* and İbrahim ORTAŞ

Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture, Çukurova University, Türkiye
*Corresponding author e-mail: isikm@cu.edu.tr

(Received: 10/03/2025; Revised: 15/05/2025; Accepted: 30/05/2025; Published: 20/06/2025)

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate the effects of Phosphorus and mycorrhiza application on cotton root and shoot morphological parameters, phosphorus uptake, and dry matter yield. The hypothesis to be tested is that mycorrhiza and P applications increase cotton growth yield and P uptake. The experiment was established under greenhouse conditions in May 2022 and harvested in July 2022, as a pot experiment. In the experiment, two P levels (0 mg P₂O₅ kg^-1, and 50 mg P₂O₅ kg^-1), three mycorrhizae species (control (without mycorrhiza), indigenous mycorrhiza (IM) and Rhizophagus clarus inoculated by May 505-cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) variety were used with three replications. Before harvesting, plant height and stem diameter were measured. At harvest, shoot and root dry matter weight (DW), P concentration and root morphological characteristics were determined. Mycorrhizal Dependency (MD) was calculated. The results showed that there was no statistically significant difference in terms of plant height, but P and mycorrhiza treatments made a significant difference in terms of stem diameters. In addition, mycorrhiza application made a significant difference in DW. IM application had 45.1 g pot^-1 and Rh. Clarus had 47.38 g pot^-1 total DW. The results showed that mycorrhiza and P dose applications increased root growth parameters. Mycorrhizae dependency of cotton plant was found to be 8.0 to 12.3%, and MD was lower in P-treated pots (8.1%) compared to non-P-treated pots (11.3%). Results show that mycorrhiza inoculation and 50 mg P₂O₅ kg^-1 applications seem to be suitable for cotton growth.

Keywords: Phosphorus, Mycorrhizae, Cotton, Dry matter and Root morphology