Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and their role in modern agriculture

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi are important to plant nutrient acquisition under low input agriculture or from soils of low fertility. Most of our major agronomic crops have well-developed symbioses with AMF—particularly wheat, maize and soybean—that have adapted to modern breeding and agriculture management practices with varying impacts on AMF diversity and function. This seminar will highlight research on AMF in maize cropping systems, particularly phosphorus uptake under high yielding conditions and the impact of nitrogen fertilization on AMF biomass and diversity.