Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Insight into the Role of Arbuscular
Mycorrhizal Fungi in Sustainable
Agriculture
P. Priyadharsini and T. Muthukumar
Abstract
Sustainable agriculture plays a vital role in agroecosystems and reduces
adverse effects on the environment by utilizing the various natural pro-
cesses. Optimum soil fertility is an essential goal to be achieved in sustain-
able agriculture system. The presence of benefi cial microorganisms in the
rhizospheric region and their activities are the main focal point which
makes dynamic resources available to plants and conserve soil fertility.
Majority of the agricultural and horticultural crops are associated with
common soil fungi, the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. These fungi
are crucial for plant health and fi tness as they increase the effi ciencies of
the plant root systems. The hyphae of these fungi originating from roots
grow into the soil and absorb nutrients especially phosphorus and deliver
it to the roots. They also play a crucial role in imparting tolerance to plants
against various stresses as well as modifying soil structure. Nevertheless,
several agricultural practices involved in crop production can infl uence
both AM formation and function. Consequently, AM fungal introductions
or changes in crop management practices that enhance the proliferation,
diversity and function of native AM fungi become essential. Optimization
of agronomic practices that sustain maximum AM fungal presence and
activity would enable to achieve increased plant production in sustainable
agriculture.
Keywords
Sustainable agriculture • Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi • Nutrients • Stress
tolerance • Inoculum production
1
Introduction
In spite of the universal escalation of agriculture
and tremendous growth in the major crop produc-
tivity over the last decades, the eradication of
 
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