MycoRhizaSoil: Combining wheat genotypes with cultivation methods to facilitate mycorrhizosphere organisms improving soil quality and crop resilience

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This project will use double-haploid lines of wheat derived from a mapping population of over 500 lines in which the parents have contrasting phenotype for arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) competence, to determine the effect of wheat mycorrhiza on rhizosphere microbial populations, AM-inducible defences and soil quality (soil organic matter content, macroaggregate stability, soil porosity and water holding capacity). Intensive modern arable farming methods combined with selection of less AM-competent wheat is hypothesised to have contributed to the loss of soil structure and organic matter content that now is a major constraint on crop productivity, especially under conditions of inadequate or too much rainfall. AM fungi have been shown to be vital players in soil aggregate stability and contribute to soil organic matter storage but to date the possibility of actively selecting wheat varieties and agronomic management practices to synergistically harness the benefits of AM fungi and associated Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) for sustainable soil quality has not been considered. We will resolve the basis of mycorrhiza inducible defences against major wheat fungal pathogens- take all and Septoria, and the potentialy synergistic interactions between mycorrhiza and PGPR. We will use wheat lines with contrasting mycorrhizal competence, but otherwise genetically very similar, selected from the mapping population. In the field we will establish a sequential trial of the wheat lines on plots under conventional tillage and no-tillage management, with and without addition of commercially available mycorrhizal inoculum. In addition a grass ley will be established and planted with the wheat lines after 3 years- to assess how this traditional way of rebuilding soil quality compares to the other management treatments. The work will quantify mycorrhizosphere carbon fluxes into aggregates using 14C and conduct metagenomic analyses of mycorrhizosphere communities.

This project will resolve the fundamental role of soil microbes in sustainable wheat production, providing essential genetic and performance data that have the potential to underpin the development of new wheat varieties, optimised for sustainable low-input agriculture. The environmental benefits of the project include more sustainable agro-ecosystems with less dependence on chemical inputs that may have detrimental environmental impacts, and restoration of critical soil functions that have been degraded by conventional agriculture.

The societal benefits from the project include increased food security, enhanced farmer's incomes and reduced occupational exposure of farmers to fungicide/pesticides. In addition, as new varieties developed as a result of the outcomes of this project are likely to give greatest financial benefits under less intensive management, they will help to make sustainable agriculture increasingly economically attractive, and thereby help to promote biodiversity and improved quality of life and environment in rural areas. These core outcomes of the project directly influence 8 specific stakeholder groups (pre and post farmgate as well as policy makers): (i) Farmers, farm managers - benefit through new soil management practices (ii) Statutory agencies involved in water and soil conservation (E.g. Natural England, Syngenta Soil and Water Protection) (iii) Game and Wildlife Conservation (iv) Cereal Processors (v) Government policy makers (DEFRA) - innovation in agricultural industries (vi) Supermarkets (vii) The wider public (links with aims of GFS - improved productivity, sustainable crops), (viii) RAGT Seeds (one of Europe's largest cereal breeders) - new market opportunity as well as the principal route to commercialisation of data produced from this project in the form of new wheat varieties.
This project represent an industrial collaboration with international wheat breeder, RAGT Seeds Ltd., for the development and commercialisation of new cultivars of wheat that require reduced input in terms of pesticides and inorganic fertilisers by harnessing beneficial soil microbes. This provides a clear opportunity for commercialisation of our outputs.

To disseminate information and promote the benefits of MycoRhizaSoil research and ensure the relevant stakeholders are consulted throughout the project we will hold 3 events:

- A Launch event in September 2014 at the Hazelwood Hotel, close to the University of Leeds farm, to establish members of a user liaison group. Invitees will include Velcourt Farm Management, Harper Adams University, RAGT Seeds and the Game and Wildlife Trust Allerton Project)
- A 2-day project review and outreach planning meeting in April 2017 at the Allerton Project Visitor Centre at Loddington with selected external stakeholders.
- One day outreach meeting in the final year of the project at the Allerton Project Visitor Centre to demonstrate research outcomes and communicate findings to farmers and policy makers, following the successful model we used in a meeting co-hosted with the Organic Growers Alliance and facilitated by the Technology Strategy Board Environmental Sustainability Knowledge Transfer Network (see http://bit.ly/HNiOOs [ES-KTN site] & http://bit.ly/1cKLwND [OGA site]).