Effect of Phosphorus Sources and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Inoculation on Growth and Productivity of Snap Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.)

Phosphorus (P) is the second major plant nutrient required for plant growth. Different sources of water soluble P have been used to increase growth and yield of legumes. In addition, mycorrhizas have a potential role in increasing soil P supply. A factorial experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of different phosphorus sources (monoammonium phosphate, monopotassium phosphate, urea phosphate, calcium superphosphate and phosphate rock fortified Bacillus megaterium) and arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculation (with or without) on growth and productivity of snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) cv. Paulista in plastic bags filled with sandy soil during 2014 and 2015 seasons at the Experimental Research Farm of the Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt. The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with three replications. Results revealed that fertilization with monoammonium phosphate (MAP) significantly increased vegetative growth characteristics, yield, and total carbohydrates and protein content in green pods concomitantly with increases in chlorophyll and nutrients content in the leaves. Moreover, arbuscular-mycorrhizal inoculation significantly increased all above mentioned data compared with non-mycorrhizal inoculation. In addition, plants inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal and fertilized with MAP showed a synergistic effect.