Hort. Sci. (Prague), X:X | DOI: 10.17221/26/2025-HORTSCI

Investigation on morphological, photosynthetic traits, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) roots infection in sago palm (Metroxylon sagu rottb.) under saline conditionOriginal Paper

Aidil Azhar¹, Lili Dahliani¹, Iis Purnamawati¹, Wanda Russianzi¹, Merry Gloria Meliala¹, Fatimah Nur Istiqomah^2,3, Andi Nur Cahyo⁴, Hiroshi Ehara^5,6

¹ Vocational College, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia

² PT Anugerah Sarana Hayati, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia

³ PT Intidaya Agrolestari (INAGRO), West Java, Indonesia

⁴ Indonesian Rubber Research Institute, South Sumatera, Indonesia

⁵ Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan

⁶ International Center for Research and Education in Agriculture, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan

This study investigated the response of sago palms to saline conditions, focusing on their morphological and photosynthetic performance. The photosynthetic traits were evaluated using OJIP chlorophyll fluorescence transient. The plants were exposed to a saline condition of 224 mM NaCl, and their ability to form associations with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was also assessed. We tested both commercial AMF products, containing spores from multiple genera, and isolated AMF spores from Glomus etunicatum and Glomus grape, to determine their ability to infect sago palm roots under high salt conditions. The results showed that sago palms can maintain efficient photosynthesis even at high salt levels. This is likely due to their ability to prevent excessive salt uptake in shoots and water loss from roots by forming lignin deposits in cell tissues. Furthermore, the study found that sago palm roots can form associations with AMF under saline conditions. These findings indicate that sago palms exhibit tolerance to saline environments, making them a promising crop option for areas with low soil quality where other carbohydrate-producing crops cannot tolerate the conditions.

Keywords: chlorophyll a fluorescence; lignin; saline condition

Received: February 25, 2025; Revised: September 11, 2025; Accepted: September 24, 2025; Prepublished online: April 9, 2026