Challenges in AM Fungal Inoculant Production

Challenges in AM Fungal Inoculant Production

• The production of AM Fungal crude inoculum on a large-scale remains very challenging even though new methods for massive production and seed coating technology have been developed in recent years.
• AM Fungal are obligate symbionts and cannot be cultivated in pure cultures, away from their host plants. This constraining feature makes the large-scale production of AM Fungal inocula very challenging and complex. In fact, the species list declared in a commercial inoculum label does not always correspond accurately to the actual inoculum composition.
• The absence of a prompt method for assessing whether and to what extent the host plant is colonized by AM Fungal also contributes to making AM Fungal agricultural usability challenging.
• The management of the high amount of inoculum necessary for large-scale application is also a demanding process.
• AM Fungal inoculation could be limited to small portions of a field, and this would gradually lead to the establishment of a healthy AM Fungal mycelial network, but with reduced costs.
• Commercial AM Fungal inocula are often advertised as suitable for a wide range of plants and environmental conditions, the real benefits are not always positive.
• Being obligate symbionts, AMF inocula are mostly produced using a containerized-culture, either in greenhouses, growth chambers, or in fields, and, as a result, cannot possibly be free from external microorganisms.