Cuantificación de parámetros de potencial infectivo de hongos micorricicos y su relacion con parametros químicos en suelos horticolas con distintos manejos

Abstract

The metropolitan region of Buenos Aires (Argentina) includes a peri-urban sector with greenhouse horticulture as the main productive activity, where soil degradation is a significant challenge for sustainable production. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi infective potential in these systems, with lettuce grown under different crop management practices, was analyzed. High pH and electrical conductivity, along with indiscriminate use of fertilizers, characterized the greenhouse soil of all productive systems. The principal difference in crop management of agroecological versus conventional and organic establishments, was the presence of greater non-cultivated diversity plants. Our results indicate that agroecological management, with spontaneous plant growth in non-productive soil edges, significantly enhanced AM spore counts and infective propagule number, compared to organic and conventional systems. Nevertheless, effective mycorrhization of lettuce was low in all systems, suggesting the reduction of AM inoculum potential under intensive greenhouse conditions. Here we confirmed the fundamental role of spontaneous flora as a reservoir of AM fungi, guaranteeing the infective inoculum in horticultural systems.