Influence of the soil microbiome on pepper crop yield

The presentation: soil microbiome and yield in pepper crops

The use of mycorrhizae arbuscularis in agriculture is becoming more and more widespread. The benefits are numerous both from the nutritional point of view and from the tolerance to abiotic stresses (drought, cold or high temperatures) and biotic stresses (pathogenic attacks).

On the other hand, fungi of the Trichoderma genus have also been used as facilitators of certain nutrients as well as biocontrol agents for diseases caused by soil fungi. It must be taken into account that there are many benefits of the joint inoculation of arbuscular mycorrhizae and Trichoderma since they result in synergistic effects on plant growth and production.

In this presentation, the results corresponding to an assay will be shown, using the novel metabolomics and metagenomics techniques, carried out on peppers in the town of El Ejido (Almería) co-inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizae (Rhizoglomus irregulare BEG72 and Funneliformis mosseae BEG234). and Trichoderma koningii TK7.

Changes in the communities of soil microorganisms and how they influence plant growth will be highlighted. Likewise, special emphasis will be placed on the alterations of the plant metabolome both at the foliar level and in the fruit that will reach the final consumer.

Speaker: Gorka Erice

The speaker will be Gorka Erice, Technical Director of Atens. PhD in Biology from the University of Navarra (2006). He studied the effects of climate change on the production and quality of alfalfa in symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. As a researcher, he has worked at the University of Caen (France) delving into the acclimatization to drought of various varieties of alfalfa. Subsequently, he investigated the efficiency of different Sinorhizobium strains under future climatic conditions and in combination with a third symbiotic element, arbuscular mycorrhizae.

Starting in 2013 and for three years, he worked at the Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) of the University of Illinois (USA) in a project to reveal the genes that confer tolerance to high tropospheric ozone concentrations in maize.

In 2016 he joined the Department of Soil Microbiology and Symbiotic Systems of the Zaidín Experimental Station (EEZ-CSIC) in Granada.

For two years, he combined his previous experience in maize with mycorrhizal symbiosis, deciphering how symbiont fungi regulate the hydraulic conductivity of the root through special proteins, aquaporins. Since 2018, as Technical Director at Atens, he has used his knowledge for the more applied development of the use of microorganisms in sustainable agricultural systems that seek greater productivity combined with increased quality in the fruits.