Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) in South Africa

The rhizospheres of cassava (Manihot esculenta) plants growing in Limpopo and Mpumulanga provinces in South Africa were sampled for the presence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The two provinces corresponded to high input commercial and low input subsistence agricultural soils, respectively. The Limpopo soils yielded Acaulospora scrobiculata, Glomus rubiforme and Gigaspora sp.1 whereas the Mpumulanga soils yielded Acaulospora scrobiculata, Acaulospora mellea, Acaulospora tuberculata, Glomus etunicatum, Glomus rubiforme, Gigaspora sp. 2 and Scutellospora sp., a total of eight species. The higher diversity in the Mpumulanga sites corresponded with lower soil nitrogen and total and available phosphorus levels. Descriptions of the species are given and the results are discussed in relation to AMF diversity found in other parts of Africa.