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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Characterization and Interventions for Foodborne Pathogens » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #308390
Title: Influence of host plants and soil diluents on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus propagation for on-farm inoculum production using leaf litter compost and agrowastes

Author
item CHAIYASEN, AMORNRAT - Chiang Mai University
item LEARDWIRIYAKOOL, CHAIYA - Chiang Mai University
item Douds, David
item LUMYONG, SAISAMORN - Chiang Mai University

Submitted to: Biological Agriculture and Horticulture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/5/2016
Publication Date: 5/20/2016
Citation: Chaiyasen, A., Leardwiriyakool, C., Douds, D.D., Lumyong, S. 2016. Influence of host plants and soil diluents on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus propagation for on-farm inoculum production using leaf litter compost and agrowastes. Biological Agriculture and Horticulture. DOI:org/10.1080/01448765.2016.1187670.

Interpretive Summary: Arbuscular mycorrhizal [AM] fungi are beneficial soil fungi that colonize the roots of plants and make them more efficient in the uptake of mineral nutrients from the soil. Better utilization of them is essential especially in tropical countries characterized by poor soils and fewer funds available for increasingly more expensive fertilizers. We conducted a greenhouse experiment followed by a field experiment to develop a method for the on-farm production of AM fungi for use in tropical countries. The combination of locally-available leaf litter compost, vermiculite, and sandy soil as growth medium and corn as the nurse plant host produced abundant AM fungus inoculum, suitable for use in tropical agriculture or forestry.

Technical Abstract: Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (Claroideoglomus etunicatum NNT10, C. etunicatum PBT03 and Funneliformis mosseae RYA08) were propagated using different culture materials (sterile sandy soil by itself or mixed 1:1 (v/v) with clay-brick granules, rice husk charcoal, or vermiculite) and host plants (Mimosa invisa, Sorghum bicolor or Zea mays). Inocula produced in the first experiment were used to evaluate the efficiency of locally-available leaf litter compost as a component of media for on-farm inoculum production. Results indicated that root colonization and number of spores of each AM fungus isolate were affected by host plant and substrate. AM fungal spores and percentage of root length colonized were highest when cultured with Zea mays (3,690 spores 100 cm-3 and 65% root length colonized) and when vermiculite was used as diluent (3,612 spores 100 cm-3 and 63%). Subsequent on-farm production of mycorrhizal fungus propagules with Z. mays in leaf litter compost mixed with vermiculite was considerably higher than that with other host plants. The results indicate that leaf litter compost is a suitable farm waste to be incorporated into substrates for producing AM fungal inoculum using the on-farm method.