Type
Date
Corporate author
Editor
Illustrator
Producer
Photographer
Contributor
Writer
Translator
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Access Rights
APA citation
Mhlanga, B., Ercoli, L., Piazza, G., Thierfelder, C., & Pellegrino, E. (2022). Occurrence and diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonising off-season and in-season weeds and their relationship with maize yield under conservation agriculture. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 58, 917–935. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-022-01678-1
ISO citation
Abstract
Description
Weeds are responsible for major crop losses worldwide but can provide beneficial agroecosystem services. This study aimed to elucidate how arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in weeds respond to host identity and conservation agricultural practices. The study was carried out at two locations in Southern Africa during off-season and in-season maize cultivation. Off-season AMF root colonisation, diversity indices and community composition significantly differed among weed species at both locations. Glomus sp. VTX00280 explains most of the AMF community differences. In-season, implementation of conventional tillage with mulching alone (CT + M) or together with crop rotation (CT + M + R) resulted in a 20% increase in AMF colonisation of the constantly occurring weed species, Bidens pilosa (BIDPI) and Richardia scabra (RCHSC), compared with conventional tillage plus rotations (CT + R). The diversity of AMF was highest under no-tillage plus mulching (NT + M). Off-season and in-season AMF structures of both BIDPI and RCHSC were not related, but 39% of the taxa were shared. Structural equation modelling showed a significant effect of the cropping system on weed AMF diversity parameters and weed and maize root colonisation, but no significant influence of weed root AMF traits and maize colonisation was detected on maize yield. This may be explained by the improvement in weed competitive ability, which may have offset the AMF-mediated benefits on yield. Our findings highlight that implementing M and CR to CT and NT positively affected weed AMF colonisation and diversity. The similarity between the off-season and in-season AMF composition of weeds supports the fact that weeds functionally host AMF during the non-crop period.
Keywords
Citation
Copyright
CIMMYT manages Intellectual Assets as International Public Goods. The user is free to download, print, store and share this work. In case you want to translate or create any other derivative work and share or distribute such translation/derivative work, please contact CIMMYT-Knowledge-Center@cgiar.org indicating the work you want to use and the kind of use you intend; CIMMYT will contact you with the suitable license for that purpose
Journal
Biology and Fertility of Soils
Journal volume
58
Journal issue
Article number
Place of Publication
Berlin (Germany)
Publisher
Springer
Related Datasets
CGIAR Initiatives
Initiative
Diversification in East and Southern Africa
Impact Area
Climate adaptation & mitigation
Action Area
Resilient Agrifood Systems
Donor or Funder
Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna