SFC Project Overview & Results
Year 1: 1 January – 30 June 2023
The study looked at colonisation of wheat roots by AMF from over 40 samples sent in by the Soil Squad – farmer members of the network. All followed the same protocol to dig up and process the root sample from first wheat crops, most of which were the varieties KWS Extase or Skyfall. The results varied from around 5% of roots colonised to almost 69%. The frequency of arbuscules was found to vary from around 34% to none at all.
To read the results in full, click here.
Revealed for the first time at Groundswell 2023, the preliminary results showed that management has a strong effect on mycorrhizal colonisation percentages with organic samples having a greater percentage of the root length with mycorrhizal fungi in it, compared with other systems (see graph).
While these figures are yet to be run under full statistical analysis, Tom says results to-date are exciting and are expected to be confirmed in further work.
74 Soil Circle members committed to providing root samples for analysis and provided additional information on soil type, management (organic, regenerative, conventional) and cultivation system (direct drill to plough).
They were provided with packs, postage paid envelopes and a sampling protocol. RAGT & KWS are providing additional samples from their variety screens.
Project to establish the level of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in arable soils across a range of locations, soil types and management systems. The project, led by Dr Tom Thirkell, complements work undertaken at CSC into sustainable crop nutrition.
From the data received within this project, it is hoped that we will be closer to understanding the patterns of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in more depth along with importance it may have to different crops.
