Terminalia arjuna (Roxb) Wight & Arn is a tropical evergreen woody tree endemic to India that grows along river banks and canals. It has a significant medicinal value, particularly for heart disorders, where tree bark is used to treat circulatory ailments. The stiff seed coat is a key impediment to obtaining good and uniform germination, particularly in inert and low-moisture-holding capacity growing media such as coal-burned fly ash. The current study was designed to look into the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on seed germination and seedling growth in Terminalia arjuna using fly ash as a growing medium. The 360 seeds were sown in two sets, for each treatment used in mycorrhizae and control without mycorrhiza inoculation. The results showed that seeds germinated with mycorrhiza inoculation had higher germination (77.77%), germination capacity (83.88%), germination energy (19.44%), germination value (24.16%), mean daily germination (9.33 seeds), peak value (2.59), cumulative germination (77.77%), and germination speed (23.40%) than seeds germinated without mycorrhiza inoculation. The use of mycorrhizal fungi in fly ash showed promising results, which could serve as a foundation for fly ash restoration and stability programs utilizing Terminalia arjuna as one of the powerful trees.
Cite this article as: Kumar, R., Bhardwaj, A. K., & Chandra, K. K. (2024). Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on the germination of Terminalia arjuna plants grown in fly ash under nursery conditions. Forestist, 74(2), 142-146.