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By Leia Weaver, NOFIA and Northeastern Ontario Regional Communication Coordinator

Northeastern SCIA, West Nipissing SCIA, and Sudbury West SCIA have partnered with the Northern Ontario Farm Innovation Alliance (NOFIA) to study the effects of AGTIV mycorrhizal inoculant on potato and cereal crops. This is an OSCIA Tier Two applied research project and was funded in part by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year federal-provincial-territorial initiative. The purpose of the study is to determine the impacts of mycorrhizal inoculants on soil health, plant health and crop yield in potato and cereal crops.

Mycorrhizae are an important and overlooked aspect of soil health. They can improve nutrient uptake, carbon sequestration, soil water holding capacity and soil tilth. Mycorrhizae are found in soils naturally and can be increased or maintained by practices such as no-till, cover crops, and reduced phosphorus inputs. These fragile underground threads associated with the roots spread like a web throughout soil, in effect giving the plant access to a greater soil volume and potentially more nutrients.

Potato trial harvest, at Valley Growers, Sudbury, ON. (Photo credit: Ben Schapelhouman)

Due to the potential of increased yield, crop health and soil quality, there is interest in commercial products containing mycorrhizal spores. Over the past two decades, the industry has been able to develop crop and species- specific mycorrhizal amendments to boost the naturally occurring network.

To highlight the most recent trial in 2022, AGTIV Reach L–Potato by Premier Tech was studied in the field. Data was gathered at harvest in late September-early October from this year’s trial on potatoes at Valley Growers in Sudbury by Ben Schapelhouman, CCA-ON & Founder of TECC Agriculture Ltd., New Liskeard, Ontario.

A 29-acre field was split into two zones of mycorrhizal-treated (12.87 ac) and untreated potatoes (16.18 ac). The product claims that it contains Rhizophagus irregularius spores in a liquid suspension (315,000 viable spores/ fl. oz). Each case of 2 x 32 fl. oz bottle can treat 20 acres. Clean, non-chlorinated water is required for dilution and constant tank agitation is required to reduce settling and clogging. This product contains non-soluble particles of <0.2mm (70 mesh) so filters with openings of at least 0.28mm (50 mesh) are required for application.

Potato harvest comparison of inoculated vs. non-inoculated potato yields. (Photo credit: Ben Schapelhouman)

This trial did not show any benefit to applying the mycorrhizal inoculant to the potatoes. Treated yields averaged 233 cwt per acre (36.05 lb per 22.5 row inches), while the untreated potatoes yielded 289 cwt per acre (46.774 lb per 22.5 row inches). Schapelhouman wonders about the usefulness of applying the inoculant instead to a crop that would require more mycorrhizal support, like corn. He suggests that a response may be seen from this product in a rotation of canola followed by treated corn.

Early trials on oats and soybeans had poorly tracked yield. The tests did show some results that yield had increased, but not enough to offset the product costs.

This product works in a way that supports the soil food web, and many factors need to be considered, in terms of crop rotation, available and unavailable soil phosphorous, non-chlorinated water source, product agitation, tillage that might damage development, length of crop season and whether the crop species supports or inhibits mycorrhizal root colonization.

More research is being carried out on indigenous (i.e., naturally occurring) mycorrhizae. University of Guelph professor Josh Nasielski is collecting inoculum from sorghum-sudangrass in Temiskaming and Algoma and will test if it can make canola-soybean rotations more sustainable and profitable. We look forward to reporting on that study to determine how effective agricultural biologicals sourced from plant and soil microbiomes are for increasing crop productivity, and if they could be a substitute for synthetic fertilizers and pesticides (measuring environmental, economic, and plant health impacts).

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