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Field performance of different maize varieties in growth cores at natural and reduced mycorrhizal colonization: yield gains and possible fertilizer savings in relation to phosphorus application

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Abstract

Aims

The benefits of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on yield and phosphorus (P) uptake of crops have commonly been studied by inoculating a single mycorrhizal fungal species in pot experiments. Yet, how the native AMF community affects the performance of different maize varieties under field conditions remains obscure.

Methods

In-growth cores with and without rotation were used in three soils that differed in P application to assess shoot biomass, P uptake, and mycorrhizal colonization of three maize varietal groups, encompassing four inbred lines, 12 hybrids, and four landraces.

Results

Rotating cores drastically reduced mycorrhizal colonization, biomass and P uptake for each varietal group at every P level. Performance of plants at natural mycorrhizal colonization at 30 kg P ha−1 was equal to that of reduced-mycorrhizal plants at 60 kg P ha−1, suggesting the potential for adequate mycorrhizal management to save P fertilizer.

Conclusion

There were no significant differences between varietal groups for mycorrhizal responsiveness, confirming that the ability to associate with and benefit from AMF has been maintained in modern breeding. Mycorrhizal plants both exhibited higher P acquisition efficiency and higher P use efficiency than reduced-mycorrhizal plants. Disadvantages of in-growth cores should be duly considered.

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFD0200200) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U1703232). We are grateful two anonymous reviewers for their critical comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences and Centre for Resources, Environment and Food Security, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, People’s Republic of China

    Xin-Xin Wang & Gu Feng

  2. Mountain Area Research Institute, Agricultural University of Hebei, Baoding, 071001, People’s Republic of China

    Xin-Xin Wang

  3. Soil Biology Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Xin-Xin Wang, Ellis Hoffland & Thomas W. Kuyper

  4. Centre for Crop Systems Analysis, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Wopke van der Werf & Yang Yu

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  1. Xin-Xin Wang
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  2. Wopke van der Werf
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  3. Yang Yu
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  4. Ellis Hoffland
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  5. Gu Feng
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  6. Thomas W. Kuyper
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Correspondence to Gu Feng.

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Wang, XX., van der Werf, W., Yu, Y. et al. Field performance of different maize varieties in growth cores at natural and reduced mycorrhizal colonization: yield gains and possible fertilizer savings in relation to phosphorus application. Plant Soil 450, 613–624 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04524-1

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