Ishaq et al. : Kajian Jenis Bahan Pembawa dan Lama Simpan 177 Jurnal Agrotek Tropika, Mei 2021, Vol 9, No. 2, pp. 177 - 188 DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.23960/jat.v9i2.4680 ISSN: 2337-4993 (Print), 2620-3138 (Online) KAJIAN JENIS BAHAN PEMBAWA DAN LAMA SIMPAN TERHADAP INFEKTIVITAS DAN EFEKTIVITAS INOKULAN FUNGI MIKORIZA ARBUSKULA STUDY OF THE TYPES OF CARRIERS AND TIME OF STORAGE ON THE INFECTIVITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGAL INOCULANT Lily F. Ishaq 1 , D. R. Lukiwati 2 , Yoke I. Benggu 1 , Peters O. Bako 1 1 Program Studi Agroteknologi Fakultas Pertanian Universitas Nusa Cendana 2 Fakultas Peternakan dan Pertanian Universitas Diponegoro *Email: lily.ishaq@yahoo.com * Corresponding Author, Diterima: 15 Des. 2020, Direvisi: 5 Mei 2021, Disetujui: 21 Mei 2021 ABSTRACT Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have many benefits and have the potential to be developed as biological fertilizers in the dry land of East Nusa Tenggara. One way of storing AMF before application is packaging in capsule form. The type of carrier and its ability to maintain AMF infectivity and effectiv- ity during storage are the factors that determine the success of using AMF capsules. This study aimed to examine the types of carriers and time of storage on the infectivity and effectiveness of AMF. This re- search was a two factors field experiment laid out in a split plot design. The main plot was a type of carrier material consisted of three levels, namely husk charcoal, zeolite and limestone, while the sub-plot was time of storage consisted of 2 levels, namely 4 months and 6 months of storage. The AM fungal spores used as inoculants were indigenous AMF collection obtained from the maize rhizosfer. The vari- ables observed included the number of spores / 100 g of soil, root colonization, tissue P content, plant biomass dry weight and cob weight. The results showed that there was a significant interaction between the type of carrier material and the time of storage on root colonization and plant tissue P. However, the type of carrier material and time of storage did not significantly affect the number of AMF spores, plant biomass dry weight and cobs weight. This indicated that husk charcoal, zeoiite and limestone have the potential to be used as AMF inoculant carriers. Keywords: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, carrier, storage time. ABSTRAK Fungi mikoriza arbuskula (FMA) memiliki banyak manfaat dan berpotensi untuk dikembangkan sebagai pupuk hayati di lahan kering iklim kering Nusa Tenggara Timur. Salah satu cara penyimpanan FMA sebelum diaplikasikan adalah pengemasan dalam bentuk kapsul. Jenis bahan pembawa dan kemampuannya dalam mempertahankan infektivitas dan efektivitas FMA selama masa penyimpanan merupakan faktor yang menentukan keberhasilan penggunaan kapsul FMA. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji jenis bahan pembawa dan lama simpan terhadap infektivitas dan efektivitas FMA. Penelitian ini merupakan percobaan lapangan yang didesain dalam bentuk percobaan faktorial dua faktor dengan menggunakan rancangan petak terpisah (split plot). Sebagai petak utama