Effect of in vitro Produced Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi Inoculum on Anaerobic Direct Seeded and Transplanted Paddy

M D Iffah Haifaa,Christopher Moses

doi:10.5539/jas.v13n6p18

Abstract

It is widely accepted that the symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play a key role in sustainable production systems in rice cultivation and they readily form a symbiotic relationship with these fungi. Four species consortium of AMF, Funneliformis mosseae, Rhizophagus intraradices, Clariodeoglomus etunicatum and Glomus aggregatum, produced through in vitro production system and formulated with organic biostimulants viz. humic acids and sea weed extract were tested in this experiment, both for direct seeded and transplanted paddy, under anaerobic cultivation system. AMF inoculated fields produced significantly higher yield than non-inoculated field. AMF inoculants formulated with a blend of humic acids and seaweed extract produced significantly higher grain yield than the inoculants formulated with humic acids alone, in both the cultivation systems. Effect of AMF inoculation was highly pronounced in transplanted paddy than direct seeded paddy, resulted in highest grain yield, highest grain weight, better grain filling rate and highest tiller production. It can be concluded that AMF inoculants can be potentially used for rice cultivation under anaerobic water management system, both for direct seeded and transplanted paddy and the nature of biostimulants used in the formulation also play a key role in the efficacy of AMF inoculants. Our findings contribute to the growing global consensus that mycorrhizal inoculants could play a role in sustainable rice production systems of the future, when used appropriately.

Highlights

United Nations estimates predict that by the year 2050, the global population will increase from approximately 7.5 billion, to more than 9.7 billion, which will exert pressure on modern agriculture to become increasingly more efficient and to produce more food from the present cultivable area in an eco-friendly and sustainable way
Results of the present study indicate that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculum in the presence of humic acids and kelp is far more effective in terms of tiller production, than AMF inoculum with humic acid alone
Rice yield and quality are the primary focus of this experiment—given this, it is vital to have a better understanding how effective AMF inoculants would be, when delivered with different biostimulant blends for different cultivation systems

Summary

Introduction

United Nations estimates predict that by the year 2050, the global population will increase from approximately 7.5 billion, to more than 9.7 billion, which will exert pressure on modern agriculture to become increasingly more efficient and to produce more food from the present cultivable area in an eco-friendly and sustainable way. It is estimated to fulfill the needs of over 3.5 billion people by providing over 20% of their dietary calories (Muthayya et al, 2014). It is uniquely placed because it can grow in wet, anaerobic environments that other crops cannot grow or survive. Like any other country in South East Asia, it is a staple food for Malaysia and a defining feature of the country’s culture. As per the latest available figure, over 2.7m MT of rice was consumed in Malaysia, wherein 67-70% is produced locally, and the remaining 33-30% is imported primarily from Thailand, Vietnam and Pakistan.

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion