Effects of Glomus lamellosum on Growth, Essential Oil Production and Nutrients Uptake in Selected Medicinal Plants

The effect of Glomus lamellosum on root colonization, growth, essential oil production and composition and nutrient acquisition of Santolina chamaecyparissus, Salvia officinalis, Lavandula angustifolia, Geranium dissectum, and Origanum dictamnus was investigated. The results showed that mycorrhizal plants had significantly higher growth, essential oil production and nutrient contents compared to non-inoculated plants. The S. officinalis plants showed the highest percentage of colonization, while the S. chamaecyparissus the lowest. Similar percentage of colonization was found among the G. dissectum, L. angustifolia and O. dictamnus plants. Analysis of essential oil by GC and GC/MS showed that the effect of G. lamellosum on the main compounds in leaf essential oils was different on the plant species used. It is concluded that the use of Glomus lamellosum may allow plant growth in low fertility soils, reduce fertilizer inputs and increase aromatic plant production of essential oils, while they indicate that it may be possible to use mycorrhizae to affect the quality of the essential oil produced.