Identification of Fungi on Rhizoplane and in Rhizosphere of Leguminous Crop by Adopting Different Techniques

Microbial inhabitants of soil are in an active state and change in response to modifications in environmental conditions, amendments, management, etc. Although various methods have been developed to study the biological properties of a disturbed soil sample or with their precincts, adoption of a method should be done keeping in mind the objective, limitations and assumptions of the method. Reproducibility of results is important to have broad applicability and comparisons, which in turn will depend upon effectiveness. Soil is a diverse medium having varying physicochemical properties, and hence, there should be modifications while standardizing the method. It will help in getting reproductive results. Sampling, processing, and storage of samples are equally important to have a true picture of the soil and need appropriate care. The numbers and kinds of fungi on the root surface, i.e., rhizoplane of the leguminous crop plant and in the rhizosphere (near the roots), have been compared with the number and kinds in root-free soil. The crops showed a typical rhizosphere effect, and there were more microorganisms in the rhizosphere than in root-free soil. A total of 34 different species of fungi were identified. The majority belong to the Aspergillus genus. Roots and the rhizosphere of moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia) yielded a higher proportion of fungi than did root-free soil