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ARS Home » Plains Area » Sidney, Montana » Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory » Agricultural Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #409239
Research Project: Ecologically-Sound Pest, Water and Soil Management Practices for Northern Great Plains Cropping Systems

Location: Agricultural Systems Research

Title: Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi and Rhizobium improve nutrient uptake and microbial diversity relative to dryland site-specific soil conditions

Author
item Rana Dangi, Sadikshya
item Calderon, Rosalie

Submitted to: Microorganisms
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/25/2024
Publication Date: 3/27/2024
Citation: Rana Dangi, S., Calderon, R.B. 2024. Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi and Rhizobium improve nutrient uptake and microbial diversity relative to dryland site-specific soil conditions. Microorganisms. 12:667-687. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12040667.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12040667

Interpretive Summary: To enhance soil health and crop productivity in dryland agroecosystems, pulses are increasingly replacing fallow in cereal crop rotations. Field pea (Pisum sativum L.) establish symbiotic associations with beneficial soil microorganisms like arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Rhizobium. Harnessing these beneficial soil microbes through seed treatment are cost effective and important for targeted management to circumvent agricultural intensification. Results from this study showed that microbial inoculation significantly influenced plant yield, nutrient uptake, and microbial diversity relative to the site-specific conditions. Our findings provide information to the scientific community and dryland farmers in making management decisions, integrating pulse crop and microbial inoculation tailored to the specific field site characteristics in optimizing nutrient and water efficiency, and other soil critical ecosystem functions.

Technical Abstract: Optimizing nutrient uptake and carbon sequestration in the drylands while enriching soil-beneficial microbes is pivotal for sustainable crop production. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and rhizobium play a significant role in plant symbiosis. However, their influence on the soil microbiome associated with nutrient acquisition and soil health is not well defined in the Northern Great Plains. This study investigated the effect of microbial inoculants as seed treatment on plant yield, nutrient uptake, potential microbial functions, and rhizosphere soil microbial communities using high-throughput sequencing of 16S and Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) ribosomal RNA genes. The experiment was conducted under two contrasting dryland conditions with four treatments: control (no inoculation), single inoculation with AMF or Rhizobium, and dual inoculations of AMF and Rhizobium (AMF+Rhizobium). Our findings revealed that microbial inoculation efficacy was site-specific. In a non-nutrient limiting condition, AMF+Rhizobium exhibited a synergistic effect on grain yield in Sidney, MT, dryland field site (DFS) 2. While AMF conferred plant resilience but marginal yield in low soil organic matter and acidic soil conditions in Froid, MT (DFS 1). Noteworthy, AMF+Rhizobium had a significant impact on carbon sequestration. Overall, site-specific factors had a greater influence on plant nutrient uptake, microbial community dynamics and functional potential. It underscores the need for tailored management strategies that consider site-specific characteristics to optimize benefits from microbial inoculation. The utilization of AMF and Rhizobium could lead to improved nutrient-use efficiency to address nutrient management challenges in dryland farming systems.