Research and development.

Abstract

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are potential contributors to plant nutrition and pathogen suppression in low input agricultural systems, although individual species of AMF vary widely in their functional attributes. Recent studies at HRI and elsewhere have suggested that in some agricultural systems inoculum of AMF is substantially lower under conventional management relative to that under organic management. Further studies have suggested that conventional management selects AMF communities with limited benefits to their plant hosts relative to those in organic systems. There is a need to investigate the generality of these findings, and their implications for the productivity of organic systems, particularly during the period following conversion to organic management. This project had three objectives: