Replant syndrome is a major challenge for agricultural systems in the Mediterranean area. The survival and growth performance in the field of three fruit crops of increasing economic
importance, namely fig tree (Ficus carica), carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua) and pomegranate
(Punica granatum) were monitored after inoculation with two arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
isolates: Rhizophagus irregularis and Glomus mosseae. The experiments were conducted in
two different sites: one is located in a botanical garden on the coast line while the second one
is a former replant vineyard infested with the soilborne pathogenic fungus Armillaria mellea.
Both mycorrhizal isolates were equally effective at increasing growth in the noninfested
area, where survival rates were high in all treatments. In the replant soil, fruit tree species
had different responses to mycorrhizal inoculation. There were no significant differences in
pomegranate growth and survival while a thirty percent growth increase was obtained in
mycorrhizal fig tree plants. Mycorrhizal colonization in carob trees promoted a fourfold
increase both in plant height and in survival.