iScience (Jul 2022)
Establishing a quality management framework for commercial inoculants containing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
- Matthias J. Salomon,
- Stephanie J. Watts-Williams,
- Michael J. McLaughlin,
- Heike Bücking,
- Brajesh K. Singh,
- Imke Hutter,
- Carolin Schneider,
- Francis M. Martin,
- Miroslav Vosatka,
- Liangdong Guo,
- Tatsuhiro Ezawa,
- Masanori Saito,
- Stéphane Declerck,
- Yong-Guan Zhu,
- Timothy Bowles,
- Lynette K. Abbott,
- F. Andrew Smith,
- Timothy R. Cavagnaro,
- Marcel G.A. van der Heijden
Affiliations
- Matthias J. Salomon
- The Waite Research Institute and The School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, PMB1 Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia; Corresponding author
- Stephanie J. Watts-Williams
- The Waite Research Institute and The School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, PMB1 Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia
- Michael J. McLaughlin
- The Waite Research Institute and The School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, PMB1 Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia
- Heike Bücking
- University of Missouri, Division of Plant Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211, USA
- Brajesh K. Singh
- Global Centre for Land-Based Innovation, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, SA 2747, Australia
- Imke Hutter
- INOQ GmbH, Schnega 29465, Germany
- Carolin Schneider
- INOQ GmbH, Schnega 29465, Germany
- Francis M. Martin
- Université de Lorraine, INRAE, UMR Interactions Arbres/Microorganismes, Centre INRAE Grand Est-Nancy, Champenoux, France; Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Tree Breeding by Molecular Design, Beijing Forestry University, 100083 Beijing, China
- Miroslav Vosatka
- The Institute of Botany, Czech Academy of Sciences, Zamek 1, 25243 Pruhonice, Czech Republic
- Liangdong Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 3 1st Beichen West Rd., Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China
- Tatsuhiro Ezawa
- Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8589, Japan
- Masanori Saito
- Iwate University, Morioka, Iwate 020-8550, Japan
- Stéphane Declerck
- Laboratory of Mycology, Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 3, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Yong-Guan Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1799 Jimei Road, Xiamen 361021, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
- Timothy Bowles
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Lynette K. Abbott
- UWA School of Agriculture and Environment and UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
- F. Andrew Smith
- The Waite Research Institute and The School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, PMB1 Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia
- Timothy R. Cavagnaro
- The Waite Research Institute and The School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, PMB1 Glen Osmond, SA 5064, Australia; Corresponding author
- Marcel G.A. van der Heijden
- Plant-Soil-Interaction Group, Institute for Sustainability Science, Agroscope, Zürich, 8046 Switzerland; Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zürich 8008, Switzerland; Corresponding author
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 25,
no. 7
p. 104636
Abstract
Summary: Microbial inoculants containing arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are potential tools in increasing the sustainability of our food production systems. Given the demand for sustainable agriculture, the production of such inoculants has potential economic value and has resulted in a variety of commercial inoculants currently being advertised. However, their use is limited by inconsistent product efficacy and lack of consumer confidence. Here, we propose a framework that can be used to assess the quality and reliability of AM inoculants. First, we set out a range of basic quality criteria which are required to achieve reliable inoculants. This is followed by a standardized bioassay which can be used to test inoculum viability and efficacy under controlled conditions. Implementation of these measurements would contribute to the adoption of AM inoculants by producers with the potential to increase sustainability in food production systems.
