59 Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Symbiosis with saffron (Crocus sativus L.) Plant Razia Shuab 1 , Nazir Ahmad Malla 2 , Javaid Ahmad 1 , Rafiq Lone 1, 2 *, K. K. Koul 1 1 School of Studies in Botany, Jiwaji University, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, 474011, India 2 Department of Botany, Government Degree College Bijbehara, (J and K), 192124, India *Corresponding author: rafiqlone@gmail.com | Received: 12 March 2016 | Accepted: 19 April 2016 | ABSTRACT Mycorrhizae are fungal symbionts forming mutualistic relationship with plant roots. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal symbiosis have remarkable role in sustainable growth and development of plants as they help the land plants to acclimatize the biotic and abiotic conditions for their better survival, growth and development. In the present study surface sterilized corms of saffron were sown in earthen pots filled with sterile soil. Half the pots were inoculated with AMF spores of the Glomus species and 10 grams of maize root inoculated with the species of genus Glomus. Another half represented controls with no AMF inoculation.The results show a promising potential of AM fungi in influencing the growth and development parameters of plant. It was observed that corm despite being the modified stem shows AMF colonization The Chlorophyll content besides morphological growth parameters and fresh and dry weight content of plant are shown to present in higher level in the mycorrhiza inoculated as compared to the non-inoculated ones. Key Words: Saffron Plant, AMF, Scale colonization, growth parameters, chlorophyll. INTRODUCTION Mycorrhizae or mycorrhiza, a symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a plant (Kirk et al., 2001). Despite only a small proportion of angiospermic species having been examined, mycorrhizae form a mutualistic relationship with the roots of nearly eighty percent of such plant species (Wang & Qiu 2006). AM fungi and plant roots, improve water and nutrient uptake like phosphorus, nitrogen and micronutrients and thus enhance plant growth (Goussous & Mohammad 2009, Lone et al. 2015). Most of the research effort is concerned with mycorrhiza as a mutualistic association between the underground root of the host plant and soil fungi. However, there are reports that besides roots, these fungi can also associate mutualistically with underground modifications of stem like rhizomes and other associated structures. Taber and Trape (1982) reported for the first time, the presence of AM fungi in the vascular system of rhizomatous tissue and the scale like leaves of Zingiber officinale L. Later Nasim (1990) reviewed the presence of AM fungi associated with the portions other than roots in twenty one angiosperms and some non-angiosperm species. Incidence of AM fungal colonisation has been reported in scale leaves and leaf bases of Curcuma longa L. (Sampath & Sullia 1992), corms of Amorphophallus commutatus Engler (Rodrigues 1995) and tubers of Pueraria tuberosa (Willd.) DC (Rodrigues, 1996). On further perusal the availability of literature on stem modifications and AM fungi associations is scanty because of dominance of studies on root-fungi associations. Present study is therefore, based on a simple premise whether or not the AM fungi have any Published by www.researchtrend.net Journal on New Biological Reports JNBR 5(1) 59 – 67 (2016) ISSN 2319 – 1104 (Online)