Abstract: The effects of three arbuscular mycorrhizal（AM）fungi（Acaulospora laevis，Glomus mosseae and Glomus caledonium）on plant growth and nutrient uptake of loquat（Eriobotrya japonica Lindl. ‘Zaozhong 6’）seedlings under three water regimes（well watered，water stressed-slight，water stressed-heavy） were investigated. Results indicated that inoculated seedlings had higher shoot and root dry biomass than the un-inoculated counterparts under all water regimes. All three AMF species increased the uptake of N，K，P，Ca，Mg and Cu. The influence of mycorrhizal inoculation to nutrient uptake and biomass of loquat seedlings was similar. It is suggested that mycorrhizal inoculation promoted the absorption of nutrition which contributed to improve its drought tolerance and the growth of loquat seedlings. G. caledonium is the dominant species of loquat seedlings in the three isolates of AM fungi.

Key words: loquat, arbuscular mycorrhizae, water stress, tolerance