title: Field Trials Reveal Ecotype-Specific Responses to Mycorrhizal Inoculation in Rice.
abstract: The overuse of agricultural chemicals such as fertilizer and pesticides aimed at increasing crop yield results in environmental damage, particularly in the Sahelian zone where soils are fragile. Crop inoculation with beneficial soil microbes appears as a good alternative for reducing agricultural chemical needs, especially for small farmers. This, however, requires selecting optimal combinations of crop varieties and beneficial microbes tested in field conditions. In this study, we investigated the response of rice plants to inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) under screenhouse and field conditions in two consecutive seasons in Senegal. Evaluation of single and mixed inoculations with AMF and PGPB was conducted on rice (Oryza sativa) variety Sahel 202, on sterile soil under screenhouse conditions. We observed that inoculated plants, especially plants treated with AMF, grew taller, matured earlier and had higher grain yield than the non-inoculated plants. Mixed inoculation trials with two AMF strains were then conducted under irrigated field conditions with four O. sativa varieties, two O. glaberrima varieties and two interspecific NERICA varieties, belonging to 3 ecotypes (upland, irrigated, and rainfed lowland). We observed that the upland varieties had the best responses to inoculation, especially with regards to grain yield, harvest index and spikelet fertility. These results show the potential of using AMF to improve rice production with less chemical fertilizers and present new opportunities for the genetic improvement in rice to transfer the ability of forming beneficial rice-microbe associations into high yielding varieties in order to increase further rice yield potentials.
authors.affiliation: Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Département de Biologie Végétale, Dakar-Fann, Sénégal.|Laboratoire Mixte International Adaptation des Plantes et microorganismes associés aux Stress Environnementaux, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.|Laboratoire Commun de Microbiologie IRD/ISRA/UCAD, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.
authors.forename: Abdala Gamby
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Diedhiou
authors.affiliation: Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Département de Biologie Végétale, Dakar-Fann, Sénégal.|Laboratoire Mixte International Adaptation des Plantes et microorganismes associés aux Stress Environnementaux, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.|Laboratoire Commun de Microbiologie IRD/ISRA/UCAD, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.
authors.forename: Fatou Kine
authors.initials: FK
authors.lastname: Mbaye
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Mixte International Adaptation des Plantes et microorganismes associés aux Stress Environnementaux, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.|Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), Saint-Louis, Senegal.
authors.forename: Daouda
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mbodj
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Mixte International Adaptation des Plantes et microorganismes associés aux Stress Environnementaux, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.|Laboratoire Commun de Microbiologie IRD/ISRA/UCAD, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.
authors.forename: Mathieu Ndigue
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Faye
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Mixte International Adaptation des Plantes et microorganismes associés aux Stress Environnementaux, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.|Laboratoire Commun de Microbiologie IRD/ISRA/UCAD, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.|Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR DIADE, Equipe CERES, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pignoly
authors.affiliation: Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Département de Biologie Végétale, Dakar-Fann, Sénégal.|Laboratoire Mixte International Adaptation des Plantes et microorganismes associés aux Stress Environnementaux, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.|Laboratoire Commun de Microbiologie IRD/ISRA/UCAD, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.
authors.forename: Ibrahima
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ndoye
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Mixte International Adaptation des Plantes et microorganismes associés aux Stress Environnementaux, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.|Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), Saint-Louis, Senegal.
authors.forename: Koffi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Djaman
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Mixte International Adaptation des Plantes et microorganismes associés aux Stress Environnementaux, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.|Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), Saint-Louis, Senegal.
authors.forename: Souleymane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gaye
authors.affiliation: Université Cheikh Anta Diop (UCAD), Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Département de Biologie Végétale, Dakar-Fann, Sénégal.|Laboratoire Mixte International Adaptation des Plantes et microorganismes associés aux Stress Environnementaux, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.|Laboratoire Commun de Microbiologie IRD/ISRA/UCAD, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.
authors.forename: Aboubacry
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kane
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Mixte International Adaptation des Plantes et microorganismes associés aux Stress Environnementaux, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.|Laboratoire Commun de Microbiologie IRD/ISRA/UCAD, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.|Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR DIADE, Equipe CERES, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Laplaze
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Mixte International Adaptation des Plantes et microorganismes associés aux Stress Environnementaux, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.|Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), Saint-Louis, Senegal.
authors.forename: Baboucarr
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Manneh
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Mixte International Adaptation des Plantes et microorganismes associés aux Stress Environnementaux, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.|Laboratoire Commun de Microbiologie IRD/ISRA/UCAD, Centre de Recherche de Bel Air, Dakar, Sénégal.|Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR DIADE, Equipe CERES, Montpellier, France.
authors.forename: Antony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Champion
mesh_terms: D057914:Agricultural Irrigation; D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods; D018533:Biomass; D020369:Bradyrhizobium / Q000502:physiology*; D060146:Ecotype; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000254:growth & development*; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000502:physiology*; D012275:Oryza / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology*; D036226:Seedlings / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology*; D012675:Senegal; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013559:Symbiosis / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D012987:Soil