Abstract This study compared the response of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to arbuscular
mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and rhizobia strain inoculation. Two common bean genotypes i.e. CocoT
and Flamingo varying in their effectiveness for nitrogen fixation were inoculated with Glomus intraradices and Rhizobium tropici CIAT899, and grown for 50 days in soil–sand substrate in glasshouse
conditions. Inoculation of common bean plants with the AM fungi resulted in a significant increase
in nodulation compared to plants without inoculation. The combined inoculation of AM fungi and
rhizobia significantly increased various plant growth parameters compared to simple inoculated
plants. In addition, the combined inoculation of AM fungi and rhizobia resulted in significantly
higher nitrogen and phosphorus accumulation in the shoots of common bean plants and improved
phosphorus use efficiency compared with their controls, which were not dually inoculated. It is