Addition of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Biochar in the Cultivation Substrate Benefits Macronutrient Contents in Strawberry Plants

• Published in: Journal of soil science and plant nutrition Vol. 22; no. 3; pp. 2980 - 2991
• Main Authors: dos Santos Trentin, Thomas, Dornelles, Alana Grando, dos Santos Trentin, Nicolas, Huzar-Novakowiski, Jaqueline, Oliveira Calvete, Eunice, Chiomento, José Luís Trevizan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.09.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; Arbuscular mycorrhizas; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Cetraspora pellucida; Charcoal; Claroideoglomus etunicatum; Crop production; Crops; Cultivation; Design factors; Design of experiments; Ecology; Environment; Experimental design; Fungi; Horticultural crops; Horticulture; Life Sciences; Multivariate analysis; Nutrients; Organs; Original Paper; Phosphorus; Plant Sciences; Potassium; Principal components analysis; Soil Science & Conservation; Sorghum; Strawberries; Substrates; Brazil; Substrate; X; Greenhouse; Biochar; Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; Duch
• ISSN: 0718-9508; 0718-9516
• DOI: 10.1007/s42729-022-00861-5

The search for sustainability of horticultural crops production systems, such as strawberry, requires studies on biotechnologies use with potential to reduce the use of inputs. Among these tools, we highlight arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and biochar. The objective of this work was to investigate whether the association between AMF and biochar interferes in the levels of primary macronutrients in plant organs and in the productive potential of strawberry plants grown in substrate, based on uni and multivariate analyses. In a two-factor design, we studied four mycorrhizal inoculants (control, mycorrhizal community, Cetraspora pellucida , and Claroideoglomus etunicatum ) without and with the presence of biochar (9% of the container volume). The experimental design used was randomized blocks, with four replications of a single plant. Plants cultivated with 9% biochar and inoculated with the fungal species C. etunicatum or with the mycorrhizal community showed higher levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in aerial part and/or root. Plants cultivated with 9% biochar had higher mycorrhizal colonization and higher potassium content in crown in contrast with other treatments. Principal component analysis indicated that the main effect obtained in our study was provided by mycorrhization. We conclude that the combined addition of AMF and 9% biochar in the cultivation substrate benefits the primary macronutrients contents in plant organs, with emphasis on the fungal species C. etunicatum and the mycorrhizal community. In addition, through multivariate analysis, it has shown the formation of heterogeneous groups between the two biotechnologies, confirming the interactive effect between AMF and biochar.