Reducing ion-leaching in arable crops using arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and conservation tillage

Overview

This research addresses the environmental challenge of nitrate leaching from arable crops into waterways by investigating the combined effect of conservation tillage and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) colonisation. The project tests the hypothesis that conservation tillage practices improve AMF colonisation in susceptible crops such as wheat, leading to reduced ion leaching compared to non-AMF susceptible crops like oilseed rape. By linking established glasshouse observations to real-world field conditions, the work aims to identify practical management strategies that minimise nitrogen losses while supporting sustainable food production.

Technical specifications

Research approach and methodologies:

• Utilises a long-term (>10 years) tillage trial site with extended crop rotations, allowing tillage-related differences in AMF communities to develop naturally in the field
• Quantifies AMF colonisation in primary root tissues using qPCR techniques
• Monitors nitrate leaching dynamics through anion-exchange resin sensors positioned to capture ion movement after heavy rainfall events and at season end
• Compares shallow tillage, deep tillage, and ploughing treatments to assess differential impacts on AMF function
• Applies metagenomics approaches including short-read Illumina and long-read Nanopore sequencing for both amplicon and whole genome shotgun analyses to characterise AMF and associated microbiota at sub-species resolution
• Tests crops receiving full-rate nitrogen fertiliser to assess variation in ion leaching under realistic input conditions
• Investigates concurrent long-term nitrate usage trials and associated crop performance metadata for comprehensive analysis

Key scientific targets:

• Quantify AMF colonisation differences between wheat and oilseed rape under varying tillage regimes
• Monitor seasonal soil nitrate dynamics linked to tillage practice and crop type
• Characterise microbial community composition changes under different tillage practices
• Identify potentially beneficial taxa beyond AMF that contribute to nutrient retention

Technology readiness level

This research is at an advanced field-validation stage, building on prior PhD studies that have already confirmed endogenous AMF colonise wheat cultivars at the trial site. The long-term nature of the established field trial (>10 years) provides a mature experimental platform with well-developed soil community differences. Future validation will generate new empirical data on the relationship between tillage intensity, AMF colonisation levels, and nitrogen leaching outcomes across full cropping seasons. The research team has demonstrated expertise in soil and plant DNA extraction, qPCR quantification, and next-generation sequencing approaches, positioning the work to deliver actionable findings for sustainable arable crop management.