The Effects of Endophytic Fungus Piriformospora indica on Morphophysiological Traits of Pyrus Rootstock cv. Pyrodvarf under Salinity Stress Conditions

AbstractBackground & Objective: The pear is one of the most important fruit trees in temperate regions and is salt-sensitive trees. Studies have shown that the use of Piriformospora indica as an endophytic fungus reduces the adverse effects of salinity stress on plants and improves morphophysiological traits. Materials & Methods: In the present study, the experiment was performed as a factorial completely randomized design with 5 replications on the pyrus rootstock CV Pyrodvarf in pot culture experiment. The first factor includes two levels of P. indica fungus (inoculation and non-inoculation) and the second factor is four salinity levels of soil (1.7, 3, 4.5 and 6 dS.m-1) using sodium chloride. After inoculation with the fungus, the salinity levels were applied to the plants. Results: The results showed that the interaction effect of salinity × fungi on morphophysiological characteristics, total chlorophyll content (P