Application of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi into agriculture

Abstract

Abstract In the natural ecosystem, rhizospheric soils have various biological organisms to favour the plant growth, nutrient absorption, stress tolerance, disease prevention, carbon capturing and many more. These organisms include mycorrhizal fungi, bacteria, actinomycetes, etc. which solubilize nutrients and assist the plants in uptaking by roots. Among them, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi have key importance in natural ecosystem, but high rate of chemical fertilizer in agricultural fields is diminishing its importance. In this chapter, indigenous AM fungi efficiency is discussed with various doses of chemical fertilizer against number of cereal, cash, horticultural and fruit crops. Moreover, their effects on the plant growth, yield enhancement, fruit quality and soil quality are discussed. In the rhizosphere, AM fungi have main interaction with multipurpose bacteria such as phosphorus solubilizing bacteria, nitrogen fixers, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria and stress tolerance bacteria. AM fungi contribute in building rhizospheric carbon stock, and, recently, addition of biochar in the soil for enhancing soil physicochemical properties and nutrient release has been studied with AM fungi. In order to manage the indigenous AM fungal spores, soil and crop management is important in association with carbon amendments for soils. One of the greatest challenges for the society is food insecurity, which should be changed into 'food security' by improving our knowledge and practicality to double the food production through sustainable farming approaches.