Scientific publications
J D Kamko
Yves H. Tchiechoua
Justine Germo Nzweundji
M. Tchatat
D Eloumou
Chansean Mam
R R Chamedjeu
Honoré Tekeu
F T Lessa
B Foko
A Damdjo
Amy Ngom
B Boyomo
International Journal of Plant Research
Prunus africana is a medicinal plant species whose exploitation became abusive over the years due to the high properties of its bark. It faces multiple challenges: the recalcitrance of its seeds and the irregular fruiting which makes its sexual regeneration difficult. Therefore, asexual regeneration has been set as the appropriate corridor for its domestication. Nonetheless, this way has encountered difficulties, particularly in the continuous growth of cuttings due to the weak development of its root systems. The optimization of plant mycorrhizal symbiosis is a key factor to overcome this constraint. This justifies the aim of this work which was to develop a method of producing P. africana cuttings inoculated with its native Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to improve its regeneration. To undergo this purpose, soils samples were collected in three Mounts (Cameroon, Oku and Manengouba), then, isolation and characterization of AMF species was done after the fungi trapping culture followed by a pre-germination, multiplication and evaluation of their growth efficiency. To see their real efficiency on Prunus root system, each AMF species multiplied has been used as biofertilizer on Prunus cuttings in a frame, where indol butyric acid (AIB) was used as positive control and water was applied as a negative control. The result revealed the presence of six species of AMF belonging to the genera Gigaspora (1), Glomus (3) and Acaulospora (2). Each AMF species showed a great capacity of growth improvement and self-multiplication. Inoculated AM fungi increased the root density of Prunus africana cuttings with an average root number of 35 for the more efficient species (Gigaspora margarita), compared to the positive control which had an average root number of 10 and the negative control 4. These results can contribute to the improvement of P. africana regeneration.
