On farm production of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculum using lignocellulosic agrowastes

Abstract

The present study evaluated the efficiency of lignocellulosic agrowastes produced in Brazil as substrates for production of on farm AMF inoculum and tested different diluents and inoculation techniques. In a first experiment, Sorghum bicolor seedlings were colonized with Rhizophagus clarus or Claroideoglomus etunicatus and transplanted to 20 L bags containing sugarcane bagasse (SC), king palm leaf sheets (KP), or barley hulls (BH) mixed (1:1:1 or 2:1:1, v/v/v) with sand and rice shell. SC and KP were conducive for production of spores and infectious propagules. A number of infectious propagules obtained were greater than with BH and ranged from 233-350 propagules cm(-3) for both isolates in SC and KP at the1:1:1 mix dilution. Number of spores of both fungi was affected mainly by the SC agrowaste, and spore densities were significantly higher compared to KP and BH. In a second experiment, SC was mixed with soil or sand and inoculation consisted of transplanting colonized seedlings or adding soil inoculum. Number of propagules tended to differ for each fungus according to the inoculation technique or diluent. It is concluded from the data that SC and KP are suitable agrowastes to be incorporated in substrates for producing AMF inoculum using the on farm method.

Influence of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculum produced on-farm and phosphorus on growth and nutrition of native woody plant species from Brazil

“…Inocula of AMF produced on farm had been shown to have positive yield effects on vegetable plants such as potatoes and peppers (Douds et al 2007;Douds et al 2012), cassava (Sieverding 1991), and coriander, fenugreek and carrot (Gaur et al 2000) under field conditions. AMF inoculum used in this study was produced in a sugarcane bagasse, carbonized rice shell and sand mixture with pre colonized grain sorghum plants to yield 283 to 350 AMF propagules cm -3 (Schlemper & Stürmer 2014). Efficiency of this inoculum is attested by the high levels of root colonization achieved by hosts and by the increase of biomass production and shoot phosphorus for some hosts tested.…”

“…The method to produce the on-farm mycorrhizal fungus inoculum used herein is described in Schlemper & Stürmer (2014) …”

Efficiency of the On-Farm Mycorrhizal Inoculant and Phonolite Rock on Growth and Nutrition of Schinus terebinthifolius and Eucalyptus saligna

“…The use of a mycorrhizal inoculum produced on farm has been effective in increasing growth and yield of different crops when other substrates were used as carriers. Douds Jr et al (2014) and Schlemper and Stürmer (2014) observed the effectiveness of the on-farm methodology in producing mycorrhizal inoculum using pellets of biochar and lignocellulotic residues as carriers (sugarcane bagasse, leaf sheaths of king palm and barley hulls), respectively.…”

“…However, production of AMF-based biofertilizers must overcome some challenges, such as the selection of efficient strains and an appropriate carrier (Malusa et al, 2012;Herrmann and Lesueur, 2013). The on-farm method for producing mycorrhizal inoculant is very promising (Douds Jr et al, 2005;Siddiqui and Kataoka, 2011), considering the low cost associated with its production and the possibility of utilizing native AMF strains adapted to local soil conditions (Douds Jr et al, 2005;Schlemper and Stürmer, 2014).…”

Produção de inoculante micorrízico on farm utilizando resíduos da indústria florestal

“…O inoculante contendo lodo de celulose no substrato destacou-se em relação à casca de Pinus, pois tendeu a apresentar os maiores valores de número de esporos de D. heterogama e de colonização micorrízica e número de propágulos infectivos para ambos FMAs. Este trabalho representa o primeiro estudo de substratos originados da indústria florestal como alternativa para compor um inoculante micorrízico produzido on farm, uma vez que outros estudos testaram substratos compostados (Douds Jr. et al, 2008) ou resíduos lignocelulósicos (Schlemper & Stürmer, 2014). Atualmente, há necessidade de melhorar as formulações de inoculantes para desenvolver e comercializar novos produtos biofertilizantes que serão mais eficazes, mais estáveis em longo prazo, de melhor qualidade, para atender as necessidades dos agricultores (Stephens & Rask, 2000).…”