Dynamics of wheat root colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi under contrasting soil tillage systems and its impact on grain yield

Abstract

In this work, we investigated the effect of the soil tillage farming system on the variability of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) root colonization of a local durum wheat variety, conducted during five years of experimental trial in a semi-arid region of eastern Algeria. No tillage farming system improved the AMF symbiotic activity from the fourth year of testing with the appearance of high root percentage of arbuscules at tillering and grain filling stage. Compared to that, the conventional tillage was marked by the observation of a high root percentage of vesicles especially at grain filling. Despite inter-annual fluctuations, the no tillage farming system improved the average yield of the five trial years by 20%. Multiple regressions analyses using the stepwise selection method were made to formulate an equation linking grain yield and the AMF symbiotic components specific to each tillage farming system.