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. 2023 Jul 28:14:1120435.
doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1120435. eCollection 2023.

Effects of nitrogen fertilization and a commercial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal inoculant on root rot and agronomic production of pea and lentil crops

Michelle Hubbard  1 , Madeleine Thomson  1 , Alexander Menun  1 , William E May  2 , Gary Peng  3 , Luke D Bainard  1   4
Affiliations

Effects of nitrogen fertilization and a commercial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal inoculant on root rot and agronomic production of pea and lentil crops

Michelle Hubbard et al. Front Plant Sci. .

Abstract

In the Canadian prairies, pulse crops such as field pea (Pisum sativum L.) and lentil (Lens culinaris L.) are economically important and widely grown. However, in recent years, root rot, caused by a variety of fungal and oomycete pathogens, including Aphanomyces euteiches, has become a limiting factor on yield. In this study, we examined the impacts of nitrogen (N) fertilization and a commercial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) inoculant on pea and lentil plant health and agronomic production at three locations in Saskatchewan: Swift Current, Indian Head and Melfort. The AMF inoculation had no impact on root rot severity, and therefore is not considered a reliable method to manage root rot in pea and lentil. In contrast, N fertilization led to reductions in root rot in Swift Current, but not the other two sites. However, N fertilization did reduce nodulation. When both pea and lentil are considered, the abundance of A. euteiches in soil increased from pre-seeding to mid-bloom. A negative correlation between soil pH and disease severity was also observed. The high between-site variability highlights the importance of testing root rot mitigation strategies under multiple soil conditions to develop site-specific recommendations. Use of N fertilizer as a root rot management strategy merits further exploration, including investigation into its interactions with other management strategies, soil properties, and costs and benefits.

Keywords: Aphanomyces euteiches; Fusarium; Lentil; Pea; commercial arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF); nitrogen; root rot.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Boxplots (mean, standard error, and standard deviation) of the significant effects (based on Table 4) of crop, N fertilizer rate, and AMF inoculation on (A–D) A. euteiches abundance in soil, (E, F) Aphanomyces and Fusarium symptoms (AS), (G–I) Fusarium spp. symptoms (FS), (J–L) shoot symptom severity (SSS) at each location. P-values of the significant effects are included in each boxplot. All other results (i.e., non-significant) for A. euteiches abundance, AS, FS, and SSS can be found in Supplementary Tables 1.1–1.3.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Principle component analysis (PCA) ordination showing the variation in pre-seeding soil properties of samples collected at the three field trial locations. EC, electrical conductivity; Soil Moist, soil moisture; NO3.N, nitrate-N; PO4.P, phosphate-P; Corg, organic carbon; Ctotal, total carbon; Ntotal, total nitrogen.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Boxplots (mean, standard error, and standard deviation) of the significant main and interaction effects (based on Table 4) of crop, N fertilizer rate, and AMF inoculation on (A–D) nodulation and (E, F) AMF colonization at each location. P-values of the significant effects are included in each boxplot. All other results (i.e., non-significant) for nodulation and AMF colonization can be found in Supplementary Tables 1.1–1.3.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Boxplots (mean, standard error, and standard deviation) of the significant main and interaction effects (based on Table 4) of crop, N fertilizer rate, and AMF on (A–E) plant dry weight and (F–J) grain yield at each location. P-values of the significant effects are included in each boxplot. All other results (i.e., non-significant) for plant dry weight and grain yield can be found in Supplementary Tables 1.1–1.3.
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