Salomon M. J., Watts-Williams S. J., McLaughlin M. J., Bücking H., Singh B. K., Hutter I., Schneider C., Martin F. M., Vosatka M., Liangdong G., Ezawa T., Saito M., Declerck S., Yong-Guan Z., Bowles T., Abbot L. K., Smith F. A., Cavagnaro T. R., van der Heijden M.
Establishing a quality management framework for commercial inoculants containing arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.
Microbial inoculants containing arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are potential
tools in increasing the sustainability of our food production systems.Given the demand
for sustainable agriculture, the production of such inoculants has potential
economic value and has resulted in a variety of commercial inoculants currently
being advertised. However, their use is limited by inconsistent product efficacy
and lack of consumer confidence. Here, we propose a framework that can be
used to assess the quality and reliability ofAMinoculants. First,we set out a range
of basicquality criteria which are required to achieve reliable inoculants. This is followed
by a standardized bioassaywhich can be used to test inoculum viability and
efficacy under controlled conditions. Implementation of these measurements
would contribute to the adoption of AM inoculants by producers with the potential
to increase sustainability in food production systems.