Nayerehalsadat Hosseini Faradonbeh - Department of Agrotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
Ebrahim Izadi Darbandi - Department of Agrotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
Hassan Karimmojeni - Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran.
Ahmad Nezami - Department of Agrotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

The plant symbiotic fungi, Arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM), increases host competency and causes partial control of Egyptian broomrape Phelipanche aegyptiaca (Orobanchaceae). In this study, a greenhouse experiment was designed to investigate the AM efficacy on the morphological and physiological traits in the association of cucumber and P. aegyptiaca. Findings showed that the broomrape contamination increased the activity of ascorbate, peroxidase, and catalase in cucumber. In contrast, AM decreased ascorbate, peroxidase activity and increased total phenolic compounds. However, AM in P. aegyptiaca-infected genotypes had no significant effect on malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide content. In AM inoculated treatments, the height and number of cucumber leaves were unaffected by P. aegyptiaca infestation. Also, AM decreased the harmful effects of the P. aegyptiaca by reducing the total dry weight and number of attachments, increasing the leaf area, the shoot, and the dry root weight of cucumber genotypes. Despite the positive effect of AM, about ۳۵ and ۵۰% reduction in shoot and dry root weight of cucumber indicated high susceptibility of the host. Overall, It seems that the AM cannot be effective as a primary broomrape control strategy in cucumber.

antioxidative upregulation, host susceptibility, phenolic, nonchemical management, boomrape