Abstract
A pot experiment was conducted to study the role of different genera of fungi on the solubilization of rock phosphate using a loamy clay calcareous soil , classified as typic claciorthid . A pure culture of each of three genera [ Aspergillus (2 species ) , Penicillium , (2 species ) , and Cephalosporiumsp] . and their mixture were used , in the presence and absence of organic fertilizer (chicken manure ) . Rock phosphate was added at a fixed rate (88 kg p ha -1) . Vegetative growth of corn was used as an indicator . The duration of the experiment was 60 days , during which, phosphorus availability solubilized from the added rock phosphate by the action of the specific fungus was measured at a 2-week intervals. Dry weight of shoots and roots and the amount of p absorbed by the corn plant for each treatment was also measured and a P balance was obtained . Results indicated that the total amount of P solubilzed , expressed as percentages of the added rock phosphate in the presence of organic fertilizer was 41.5 in the soil inoculated with the mixture of fungi , followed by Penicillium (37.3) , then followed by Aspergillus and Cephalosporium(36.6) for each , with an increase of 31.8% , 22.5% and 20% over the control , respectively. Less than that was obtained for the treatments without organic fertilizer .
