Introduction:

In Colombia, panela is an ancestral food obtained by concentration from the extraction of sugarcane juice. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) help the exchange and mobility of nutrients by associating with plants, improving quality and yield in different production systems.

Objective:

To evaluate the effect of AMF inoculation in sugarcane cultivation on panela yield and quality.

Materials and Methods:

The study was carried out in Suaita, Santander, under a randomized complete block design, in triplicate with four treatments (T1: Acaulospora mellea, T2: Rhizophagus irregularis, T3: control 50% and T4: control 100% fertilization). The variables in sugarcane were maturity indexes and tons per hectare, and in panela yield, tons per hectare, conversion to panela, reducing sugars, total solids, pH, moisture, sucrose, and soluble phosphorus were determined.

Results and Discussion:

There were significant differences (P>0.05) in the maturity index with T2 and a higher content of reducing sugars in panela with T1, in the other variables, a benefit of the inoculation with respect to the controls was observed, being T2 the treatment with the highest values in production of stems.ha-1, tons of cane.ha-1; and T1 in conversion to panela, reducing sugars, soluble phosphorus and total solids.

Conclusions:

Interaction of R. irregularis and A. mellea with panela quality and yield was found, obtaining promising results for the use of these microorganisms to enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of sugarcane for panela.

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