title: Analysis of a large dataset of mycorrhiza inoculation field trials on potato shows highly significant increases in yield.
abstract: An increasing human population requires more food production in nutrient-efficient systems in order to simultaneously meet global food needs while reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have the potential to enhance crop yield, but their efficiency has yet to be demonstrated in large-scale crop production systems. This study reports an analysis of a dataset consisting of 231 field trials in which the same AMF inoculant (Rhizophagus irregularis DAOM 197198) was applied to potato over a 4-year period in North America and Europe under authentic field conditions. The inoculation was performed using a liquid suspension of AMF spores that was sprayed onto potato seed pieces, yielding a calculated 71 spores per seed piece. Statistical analysis showed a highly significant increase in marketable potato yield (ANOVA, P < 0.0001) for inoculated fields (42.2 tons/ha) compared with non-inoculated controls (38.3 tons/ha), irrespective of trial year. The average yield increase was 3.9 tons/ha, representing 9.5 % of total crop yield. Inoculation was profitable with a 0.67-tons/ha increase in yield, a threshold reached in almost 79 % of all trials. This finding clearly demonstrates the benefits of mycorrhizal-based inoculation on crop yield, using potato as a case study. Further improvements of these beneficial inoculants will help compensate for crop production deficits, both now and in the future.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, 4101 Rue Sherbrooke Est, Montréal, QC, H1X 2B2, Canada. mohamed.hijri@umontreal.ca.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hijri
mesh_terms: D059827:Agricultural Inoculants / Q000502:physiology*; D000383:Agriculture / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000069599:Crop Production / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D066264:Datasets as Topic; D000072480:Farms; D055137:Glomeromycota; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000502:physiology*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000382:microbiology; D011198:Solanum tuberosum / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000382:microbiology*; D013172:Spores, Fungal
keywords: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; Crop production; Farmer field trials; Potato; Sustainable agriculture