Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play an important role in plant growth. However, no reports of legally commercialized AMF-based inoculants for agricultural crops in Brazil exist.
This research aimed to evaluate the agronomic efficiency of a Rhizophagus intraradices inoculant in combination with phosphate fertilization in grain yield of corn under different edaphoclimatic conditions in Brazil.
Experiments were conducted in five Brazilian states (Goiás, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina) in a 2 x 3 factorial scheme, with two inoculation treatments (inoculated and non-inoculated seeds) and three doses of phosphate fertilization (0, 50 and 100% of the recommended P).
At the end of the crop cycle (stages R4-R5), inoculation provided increases in biomass (average of 48%) regardless of the applied dose of P, higher P absorption, and a 54% average increase in grain yield. In conclusion, the mycorrhizal inoculant increases biomass yield, P uptake and corn grain yield under different edaphoclimatic conditions in Brazil, especially in soils that originally had low or medium levels of available P.
Read the full trial here.
