Summary
This on-farm field trial across 54 Swiss maize fields demonstrates that soil microbiome indicators can reliably predict crop growth response to AMF inoculation, with predictive models explaining 86% of observed variation. The abundance of pathogenic fungi, rather than soil nutrient availability, emerged as the strongest single predictor of inoculation success. The findings suggest that pre-season microbiome profiling offers a practical biotechnological tool to improve the profitability and sustainability of microbial inoculation strategies in agriculture.
UK applicability
The methodological approach is directly applicable to UK cereal production systems, where maize and similar crops face comparable soil microbial contexts and environmental conditions. However, predictive models derived from Swiss soil conditions may require local validation before implementation at scale in UK farms.
Key measures
Maize growth response to AMF inoculation (−12% to +40%); soil microbiome composition; abundance of pathogenic fungi; soil nutrient availability; predictive accuracy of variation in plant growth response (86%)
Outcomes reported
The study quantified maize growth response to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) inoculation across 54 Swiss fields and developed predictive models using soil microbiome indicators. Growth responses ranged from −12% to +40%, and soil microbiome composition predicted 86% of variation in plant growth response to inoculation.
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