Mycorrhizal inoculation for a more profitable and resilient cassava sector: The use of stable isotope proxies to assess cassava water use efficiency,

1. Mycorrhizal inoculation for a more profitable and resilient cassava sector - The use of
stable isotope proxies to assess cassava water use efficiency
Introduction
• Nigerian cassava production is 100% rain-fed and thus
fully exposed to current and future disturbances in
rainfall.
.
• This invariably exposes the crop to stress given the long
growth cycle of cassava in West and Central Africa.
• This tolerance can also be conventionally be
characterized by the water use efficiency (WUE)
• Although the crop is believed to be more tolerant to dry
spells probably as a result of its association with AMF
but there is practically paucity of information on this.
Objectives
1. To apply next generation DNA sequencing methods to
provide a full account of cassava AMF-communities
2. To determine the effectiveness of inoculation with
mycorrhizal fungi in improving water use efficiency and
nutrient uptake of cassava under varying moisture
stress and nutrient conditions, under both greenhouse
and field conditions
3. To optimize and use the stable isotope fractionation
processes of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen to quantify
water use efficiency (WUE)
Development of a strategy to achieve a sustainable
cassava production system in a constantly changing
climate
Provision of insight into the underlying fundamental
mechanisms of the AMF-Cassava relationship.
Tracking and quantifying water flows within and beyond the
plant rooting zone to develop minimal water loss
management strategies in cassava.
Expected output
Promotors: Prof. R. Merckx, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering and Prof. O. Honnay, Faculty of Sciences.
Co-promotors: Dr. S. Hauser, IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria and Prof. A.A. Soretire, Federal University of
Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria
1. A large-scale screening of AMF-
communities in cassava fields in
Nigeria based on DNA-
sequencing techniques(Fig:1)
2. Inoculation study in a green
house to determine AMF
effectiveness on WUE and
nutrient uptake of cassava at KU
Leuven, Belgium.
3. Seeking field confirmation of
the best-bet combinations of
cassava genotype and
mycorrhizal strains on field in
Nigeria
3TIEREDEXPERIMENT
Research methodology
Figure 1: Map of Nigeria
showing selected fields