Aponte-López, Carla M.

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    Response of Capsicum chinense to mycorrhizae inoculation and local mycorrhizal diversity associated with the crop in Puerto Rico
    (2018-05) Aponte-López, Carla M.; Cafaro, Matías J.; College of Arts and Sciences - Sciences; Beaver, Linda Wessel; Ríos Velázquez, Carlos; Vélez, Ana; Department of Biology; Medina Díaz, César A.
    Capsicum chinense is widely cultivated in the Caribbean region. Most types are pungent, such as 'Scotch Bonnet' and 'Habanero'. In Puerto Rico, non-pungent types called "ají dulce" are consumed as part of the local cuisine. Currently, in commercial agriculture, the use of chemical fertilizers dominates the local market, while biological ones are overlooked. The purpose of this research was to characterize and identify the endomycorrhizae associated with locally grown C. chinense in the western area of Puerto Rico. We collected “ají dulce” roots and surrounding soil from plants growing in experimental plots at UPRM. Plants were grown under six treatments: (1) commercial Promix® BX, (2) Promix® Mycorrhizae (Glomus intraradices), (3) Promix® mixed with 25% soil, (4) Promix® BX plus inorganic (N-P-K) fertilizer, (5) Promix® Mycorrhizae (Glomus intraradices) plus inorganic fertilizer and (6) Promix® mixed with 25% soil plus inorganic fertilizer. Aji dulce planted in Promix® Mycorrhizae without fertilizer had greater plant height, and a larger number of branches, leaves and fruits, compared to the other substrates. But when fertilizer was added, there was little or no positive response of plants in Promix Mycorrhizae. To determine the percentage mycorrhizae infection, slides were done utilizing Trypan blue-stained root cuts. Differences in percentage infection were found among treatments with Promix® + Soil exhibiting the highest percentage infection. DNA extractions and PCR reactions using specific primers for mycorrizhae were performed. Cloning of PCR products for sequencing were done. Based on GenBank database searches, we established that the genera Scutellospora, Diversispora, Acaulospora, Racocetra, Funneliformis, Glomus, and Paraglomus are present in local soils.