Research
Extension
Courses
Consumers
--------------------------
Virtual
Tours Student
& Job Opportunities News
Articles Standards
--------------------------
Market
Information Events
Issues
Animal Welfare Strategic
Plans --------------------------
Links
Award-winners
Site Map
Nutrient use efficiency and arbuscular mycorrhizal root colonisation of winter wheat cultivars in different farming systems of the DOK long-term trial
I. Hildermann1*, M. Messmer1, D. Dubois2, T. Boller3, A. Wiemken3 and P. Mäder1
Abstract
BACKGROUND: For organic farming, cultivars are required with high nutrient use efficiency under nutrient limited conditions. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are known to contribute to nutrient uptake under low input conditions. We compared nutrient use efficiency (NUE) of old and modern organically and conventionally bred cultivars in organic and conventional systems and assessed AMF-root colonisation (AMF-RC) in relation to nutrient concentrations.
RESULTS: Cultivars and systems had a statistically significant effect on nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations and NUE parameters, whereas no genotype × environment interactions appeared. In contrast to N and P uptake, the NUE parameters were higher under organic than under conventional conditions. NUE for N increased with the year of release of cultivars. In the organic systems, the organically bred cultivars could not outperform the conventionally bred cultivars in grain yield and NUE parameters. AMF-RC was higher in the organic than in the conventional system, but did not differ among cultivars.
CONCLUSION: Cultivars achieving high NUE in the organic systems were found among modern cultivars, irrespective of the breeding programme. Nutrient conditions during the breeding programme did not affect AMF-RC. No clear evidence was found that AMF symbiosis contributed more to nutrient concentrations under low input than under high input conditions.
Source
Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (2010) 90: 2027-2038
DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.4048
Author Locations and Affiliations
(1) Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, Ackerstrasse, 5070 Frick, Switzerland
(2) Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon Research Station ART, Reckenholzstrasse 191, 8046 Zürich, Switzerland
(3) Botanical Institute, University of Basel, Section of Plant Physiology, Hebelstrasse 1, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
* Corresponding author, E-mail isabell.hildermann@fibl.org
Posted August 2010