Abstract
SUMMARY The use of chemicals to fertilize crops incurs economic and environmental costs and it is widely recognized that the current level of chemical fertilizer use is unsustainable in many intensive farming systems. Any methods that can reduce fertilizer input and still maintain acceptable yields would be of great benefit to both the farmer and the environment. The use of beneficial endophytes as crop inoculants may go some way towards improving crop yields beyond that achievable using fertilizer increases alone. Field trials were conducted over two seasons on three contrasting field sites to test the effects of fungal endophytes from a wild barley relative on three barley cultivars (Mickle, Planet and Propino). Seeds were either untreated or dressed with a consortium of four endophyte strains, and three levels of nitrogen (N) were applied to both treatments: full N, 50% N and 0 N. On the field site with the lowest overall N input, the endophyte treatment with 50% N restored yield for ‘Planet’ to that associated with untreated plants receiving the full N input. On the same site and with the same cultivar, endophyte treatment increased yield by 15% under full N, and by a mean 12% for all three cultivars with 50% N input. Over both seasons and all three sites, the endophyte treatment increased yield for the cultivar Planet by a mean of 9%. For the endophyte-associated increase in the variety Planet grain yield over the untreated trials strong correlations were found between increased yield and each of low rainfall, greater evaporation and greater number of degree days above the base. Furthermore, the efficacy of the endophytes was not removed by regular foliar fungicidal treatment. These results suggest that fungal endophytes can contribute to improving barley yield grown in low rainfall areas and under a range of fertilizer input regimes, provided that endophyte treatments are applied to compatible crop cultivars and sites.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Endophytes with half nitrogen restored Planet yield to that of untreated full-nitrogen plants at the lowest nitrogen site.
- Taxon
- barley
.jpg?width=60)
Hordeum vulgaret0 - Material
- Planete0
- Treatment
- endophyte treatment with 50% Ne0
- Interactor
- endophytee0symbiont
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- restorede0
- Comparator
- untreated plants receiving the full N inpute0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“the endophyte treatment with 50% N restored yield for ‘Planet’ to that associated with untreated plants receiving the full N input”
t0“field-grown spring barley”
Claim · model-written summary
Endophytes increased Planet yield by 15% under full nitrogen at that site.
- Taxon
- barleyHordeum vulgaret0
- Material
- Planete1
- Treatment
- endophyte treatmente0
- Interactor
- endophytee0symbiont
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 15%e0
- Qualifier
- under full Ne0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“On the same site and with the same cultivar, endophyte treatment increased yield by 15% under full N”
t0“field-grown spring barley”
e1“yield for ‘Planet’”
Claim · model-written summary
Endophytes increased mean yield across three cultivars by 12% under half nitrogen at that site.
- Taxon
- barleyHordeum vulgaret0
- Treatment
- endophyte treatmente0
- Interactor
- endophytee0symbiont
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 12%e0
- Qualifier
- all three cultivars with 50% N inpute0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“endophyte treatment increased yield by 15% under full N, and by a mean 12% for all three cultivars with 50% N input”
t0“field-grown spring barley”
Claim · model-written summary
Across seasons and sites, endophytes increased Planet yield by 9% on average.
- Taxon
- barleyHordeum vulgaret0
- Material
- Planete0
- Treatment
- endophyte treatmente0
- Interactor
- endophytee0symbiont
- Outcome
- yielde0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 9%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Over both seasons and all three sites, the endophyte treatment increased yield for the cultivar Planet by a mean of 9%”
t0“field-grown spring barley”
Claim · model-written summary
Planet yield benefits from endophytes correlated strongly with low rainfall, greater evaporation and more degree days.
- Taxon
- barleyHordeum vulgaret0
- Material
- Planete0
- Outcome
- increased yielde0
- Qualifier
- low rainfall, greater evaporation and greater number of degree days above the basee0
- Setting
- field-grownt0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“For the endophyte-associated increase in the variety Planet grain yield over the untreated trials strong correlations were found between increased yield and each of low rainfall, greater evaporation and greater number of degree days above the base”
t0“field-grown spring barley”
Claim · model-written summary
Regular foliar fungicide did not remove endophyte efficacy.
- Taxon
- barleyHordeum vulgaret0
- Treatment
- regular foliar fungicidal treatmente0
- Interactor
- endophytese0symbiont
- Outcome
- efficacy of the endophytese0
- Direction
- not removede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the efficacy of the endophytes was not removed by regular foliar fungicidal treatment”
t0“field-grown spring barley”
Claim · model-written summary
Authors suggest fungal endophytes can improve barley yield in low-rainfall areas with compatible cultivars and sites.
- Taxon
- barleyHordeum vulgaree0
- Outcome
- improving barley yielde0
- Qualifier
- low rainfall areas and under a range of fertilizer input regimese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“fungal endophytes can contribute to improving barley yield grown in low rainfall areas and under a range of fertilizer input regimes, provided that endophyte treatments are applied to compatible crop cultivars and sites”
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