VALIDATING AND MONITORING MYCORRHIZA INDUCED RESISTANCE IN AGRONOMIC CONTEXTS (MIRFIELD)(PDC2022-133600-C21)

The use of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can help to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture while
protecting our soils. However, although AMF based biostimulants are already being marketed, the difficulty of controlling inocula quality, the difficulty in evaluating their benefits within the crops, and the described variability of their performance in the field is challenging the full adoption of this technology. Moreover, their use is mostly oriented to biofertilization, but their role in inducing resistance to pests is yet to be consolidated. In the previous coordinated project MIRtoPEST (RTI2018-094350-B), we showed, under controlled conditions, that Mycorrhiza-Induced-Resistance (MIR) is functional against diverse pests including chewing caterpillars (Spodoptera exigua), mites (Tetranychus urticae) and the leafminer Tuta absoluta. We also showed that AMF inoculation is compatible with the use of certain entomopathogenic natural enemies, already in use for pest control. Furthermore, we also identified potential markers for both, the presence of AM symbiosis and MIR, with active metabolites showing primed accumulation in mycorrhizal plants. One of the goals of the present coordinated Proof of Concept (PoC) proposal is to assess the efficacy of MIR in controlling naturally occurring pests under real production systems, using tomato varieties of agronomic interest and establishing sustainable crop management practices. These will
include open-air traditional cultivation and production in technified greenhouses typical of Mediterranean intensive agriculture through the collaboration with cooperatives of growers (Hortoventas and CASI) and the Cajamar foundation. We also aim to validate and transfer the use of MIR markers into these systems, and to develop tools to monitor MIR and the potential primed state of plants under field conditions.
The results from this PoC project will lead to a new marketable concept for the use of AMF beyond nutrition, as biostimulants and bioprotective agents against natural pests in agriculture. Moreover, the molecular markers associated with plants with MIR, previously identified, will be transferred and validated into real crop production systems, becoming a marketable tool to allow specialized field technicians and producers to assess the presence of MIR by themselves in a faster and easier manner. Overall, the present PoC project aims to facilitate and implement the use of mycorrhizas to protect crops in modern and sustainable agriculture, able to meet the increasing
world food demand, while protecting our valuable soils.
From an economical and sustainability point of view, we expect that the results will promote greater confidence in these AMF-based products, facilitating their implementation in agriculture and promoting their use in biological control and integrated pest management programs. Furthermore, the validation of the MIR markers functionality will be an exploitable and protectable finding. We will foster the awareness of the sector on this technology and promote its implementation, and work towards a transfer strategy by contacting companies potentially interested in generating a prototype of a fast testing kit to determine the markers in an operational environment. Members of the consortium will be trained in innovation, knowledge transfer, and exploitation of R&D results by participating in specialized courses.