Mycorrhizae and Cover Crops in Cerrado Soil

The Cerrado is one of the most important regions for agricultural development worldwide and serves as the main productive breadbasket of the Americas. One of the leading agricultural activities in the region is high-tech livestock farming. However, Cerrado soils are predominantly low in fertility, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play a fundamental role in plant nutrition in this biome. Understanding the behavior of AMF in pasture soils is essential for developing more efficient and sustainable management practices.

This study aimed to evaluate the activity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in different forage grass species cultivated in Cerrado soil. To measure mycorrhizal activity, soil spore density and mycorrhizal colonization rates in the roots of 14 forage grass genotypes were investigated.

The results showed no significant differences in spore density values among the investigated genotypes. Panicum maximum cv. Mombaça had the lowest mycorrhizal colonization rates, while the highest values were found in the roots of Brachiaria decumbens. Among the fungal genera identified in the rhizosphere of the studied genotypes, Gigaspora, Scutellospora, and Sclerocystis were less frequent, suggesting that associations with these genera are less recurrent than with others.

These findings reinforce the importance of selecting appropriate forage species to optimize mycorrhizal symbiosis and contribute to more sustainable pasture management in the Cerrado.