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Abstract
Leaucaena leucocephala and Prosopis juliflora seedlings were grown in a sandy loam and loamy clay soil amended with three concentrations of NaCl with and without the mycorrhizal fungus Glomus fasciculatum and a Rhizobium isolate. After 16 weeks in glasshouse culture L. leucocephala and P. juliflora plants inoculated with G. fasciculatum and Rhizobium developed abundant vesicular‐arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) and root nodules in the sandy loam soil without NaCl amendments. In contrast, root system colonization by both rhizosphere symbionts was reduced in the loamy clay soil. In the absence of NaCl, plants inoculated with combinations of VAM and rhizobia had significantly greater total dry weight, tissue phosphorus concentration, and leaf area compared to seedlings colonized with individual symbionts in both soils. Although NaCl amendments greater than 40 and 80 mM decreased mycorrhizal colonization, number of chlamydospores, and root system nodulation by rhizobia, dry weight and tissue P concentration of plants colonized with VAM fungi and rhizobia were generally larger than those of seedlings colonized with only rhizobia. These data suggest that dual inoculation with VAM fungi and rhizobia isolates may help Leucaena and Prosopis species mitigate the adverse effects of NaCl on juvenile growth and development.