Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities originating from organic and conventional agriculture on wheat growth and yield. Six different spring wheat cultivars released in different years in north and central European countries were considered. We hypothesised that AM fungal inoculum collected from organic agricultural fields would elicit a greater positive growth response than inoculum collected from conventional agricultural fields; and that older cultivars, which were developed under conditions of low fertilizer input, would exhibit overall greater growth responses to the presence of AM fungi, compared with more recent cultivars, and that AM fungal inoculum from conventional fields might have the most beneficial effect on the growth and yield of recent cultivars. The results showed that the overall effects on the growth and yield of spring wheat grown with organic and conventional AM fungal inocula did not differ greatly. However, the inoculation growth response, showing the difference of the effects of organic and conventional inocula, varied between particular wheat cultivars. Inoculation growth response of the cultivar Pikker (released in 1959) was the most positive, while that of the cultivar Arabella (released in 2012) was the most negative. The use of AM fungal inoculum from organic fields resulted in slightly taller plant individuals. Pikker showed relatively higher yield and stronger growth when the organic AM fungal inoculum was used. Arabella exhibited relatively lower yield and weaker growth when the organic inoculum was used. Whether the positive response of Pikker to Estonian organic inoculation reflects adaptation to the locally occurring AM fungal community needs to be established by further studies of the communities of AM fungi colonizing wheat roots.
Highlights
Soil organisms are integral components of ecosystems, and healthy soils that contain an active microbiome are critical for the sustainable production of food for the expanding global human population [1]
We used six spring wheat cultivars in the experiment and hypothesized that older cultivars, which were developed under conditions of low fertilizer input, will exhibit stronger Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal growth responses compared with more recent cultivars
The inoculation response, i.e. the growth effect of mycorrhizal fungal inoculation under organic inoculum compared to conventional inoculum varied among wheat cultivars
Summary
Soil organisms are integral components of ecosystems, and healthy soils that contain an active microbiome are critical for the sustainable production of food for the expanding global human population [1]. Soil microorganisms still receive relatively little recognition in agricultural management strategies [2]. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (phylum Mucoromycota, subphylum Glomeromycotina) [3] represent one of the most ubiquitous groups of soil microorganisms, colonizing the roots of about 80% of terrestrial plant species [4]. AM fungi provide their host plants with nutrients (mainly P and N) and receive plant assimilated carbon in exchange [4]. AM fungi provide further benefits to plants such as alleviating moisture stress [5] and increasing plant resistance to pathogens [6]. There is emerging evidence that AM fungi reduce leaching of nutrients from soil by enlarging the nutrient interception zone [7]
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