Frequent cultivation prior to planting to prevent weed competition results in an opportunity for the use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus inoculum

• Published in: Renewable agriculture and food systems 2012-12, Vol.27 (4), p.251-255
• Main Authors: Douds, David D., Nagahashi, Gerald, Shenk, John E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural practices; Agricultural soils; Agriculture; Biopesticides; Farm buildings; Farm management; Farming systems; Fertility; Fungi; Inoculation; Inoculum; Organic farming; Pest control; Plant diseases; Plants; Preliminary Report; Seedlings; Soil fungi; Soil inoculation; Sustainable agriculture; Weeds
• ISSN: 1742-1705; 1742-1713
• DOI: 10.1017/S1742170511000391

Inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi is a potentially useful tool in agricultural systems with limited options regarding use of synthetic chemicals for fertility and pest control. We tested the response of Allium porrum cv. Lancelot to inoculation with AM fungi in a field high in available P (169 μg g−1 soil) that had been repeatedly cultivated to control weeds. Seedlings were inoculated during the greenhouse production period with a mixed species inoculum produced on-farm in a compost and vermiculite medium with Paspalum notatum Flugge as a nurse host. Inoculated and uninoculated seedlings were the same size at outplanting. Inoculated seedlings were over 2.5-fold greater in shoot weight and shoot P content than uninoculated seedlings at harvest. These results demonstrate the potential yield benefits from inoculation with AM fungi in situations where farm management practices may negatively impact on indigenous populations of AM fungi.