Microbe Management: Application of Mycorrhyzal Fungi in Sustainable Agriculture

There is an increasing need to find alternatives to high-intensity agriculture. Intensively managed agrosystems are inefficient and lead to reduced ecosystem functioning and environmental degradation. These effects are predicted to magnify under the warmer, drier climate of the future. Plant growth-promoting microbes promise to replace or supplement many destructive, high-intensity practices. Symbiotic fungi, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in particular, may be useful in agrosystems, but their use has languished for decades. The benefits of using AMF are undeniable, so why haven't they been incorporated into cropping systems? Research shows that AMF functioning may be much more complex than previously thought. Until we can elucidate their functional variation, and classify it on a useful taxonomic level, practical applications of AMF cannot move forward.