Biostimulation of inoculation with Glomus proliferum and application of humic acid in the in vitro growth of Lunularia cruciata

In this study, we evaluated the growth of the liverwort Lunularia cruciata, inoculated or not with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) Glomus proliferum (15 spores per Petri dish), in Strullu-Romand Variant (SRV) medium modified and enriched with humic acid (HA) at different concentrations (0, 20, 40 and 80 mg C L−1), as well as the sporulation of the AMF. We assessed the absolute growth rate (AGR) and relative growth rate (RGR) at inoculation, as well as at 7, 14, 21, 28, 43, 52 and 60 days after inoculation (DAI), whereas we assessed sporulation at 25, 43, 60 and 70 DAI. The main determinant of L. cruciata growth was the presence of AMF. With and without G. proliferum inoculation, respectively, the AGR peaked at 39 and 42 DAI, and the RGR was 0.0474 and 0.0387 cm² cm−2 d−1. Doses of 20 and 80 mg C L−1 of HA had a positive influence on the growth of L. cruciata. With and without HA, respectively, the AGR peaked at 38 and 39 DAI, and the RGR was 0.0484 and 0.0422 cm² cm−2 d−1. The sporulation of G. proliferum, which was as high as 199 spores plate−1, was influenced by HA, especially at 20 and 80 mg C L−1