Impact of the Cultivation System and Plant Cultivar on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi of Spelt (Triticum aestivum ssp. Spelta L.) in a Short-Term Monoculture

Abstract

Native communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) constitute a natural biofertilization, biocontrol, and bioprotection factor for most agricultural crops, including cereals. The present study investigated the native AMF population in cultivated spelt, i.e., a cereal that has not been analyzed in this respect to date. In particular, the aim of the study was to determine the number of spores and the degree of AMF root colonization in two spelt cultivars (Franckenkorn and Badengold) from a 3-year monoculture grown in two different cultivation systems: conventional tillage and no-tillage systems. The study showed considerable accumulation of AMF spores in the soil (on average 1325 in 100 g of air-dry soil), with a wide range of their numbers, and not a very high degree of endomycorrhizal colonization (on average from 3.0% to 31%). The intensity of AMF growth in the subsequent cultivation years gradually increased and depended on the cultivation system as well as the growth stage and cultivar of the spelt. It was found that both analyzed AMF growth indices in the no-tillage system were positively correlated with each other. Moreover, their values were higher in the no-tillage system than in the conventional system, with statistical significance only for the number of spores. This was mainly observed in the variant with the Franckenkorn cultivar. The effect of the growing season was evident in both cultivation systems and spelt cultivars. It was reflected by intensification of sporulation and mycorrhization of spelt roots by AMF in summer (maturation stage) compared with the spring period (flowering stage).