Abstract
Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi constitute promising biofertilizers for the deployment of a sustainable agriculture. However, the evaluation of mycorrhizal benefits in the field is poorly documented, notably in fruit tree orchards, and concerns exclusively growth performance and nutrition. Here, we evaluated the persistence of beneficial effects of AM fungal inoculation on two jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.) cultivars (Tasset and Gola) inoculated in nursery conditions and subsequently transferred in the field until fruit production. The growth-promoting effects on jujube observed in nursery was still maintained 18 months after planting, with significant higher rates of survival and an increase of fruit production for inoculated jujube cultivars. Nevertheless, AM-mediated responses were dependent on cultivar. No major disturbance of native AM fungal community was associated with AM fungal inoculation but a stimulation of AM fungal colonization is probable. The use of mycorrhizal inoculation with the R. irregularis IR27 strain hold promise for the development of efficient jujube orchards under semi-arid conditions.