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Biofertilizer ProductionVesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (VAM)

Rice Technology Bulletin Series

No.1 Released Rice Varieties (1968-1994)2 Pagpaparami at Pagpupuro ng Binhi sa Sariling Bukid3 Paggawa ng Maligaya Rice Hull Stove4 PhilRice Micromill5 PhilRice Flourmill6 PhilRice Drumseeder7 PhilRice Rototiller8 Rice Food Products9 PhilRice-UAF Batch Dryer10 Integrated Management of the Malayan Black Bug11 SG800 Rice Stripper-Harvester 12 Dry-Seeded Rice-Based Cropping Technologies13 Maligaya Rice Hull Stove14 10 Steps in Compost Production15 Rice Tungro Virus Disease16 The Philippine Rice Seed Industry and The National Rice Seed Production Network17 10 Hakbang sa Paggawa ng Kompost18 10 nga Addang ti Panagaramid iti Kompost19 Characteristics of Popular Philippine Rice Varieties20 Rice Stem Borers in the Philippines21 Rice Food Products (revised edition)22 Leaf Color Chart (English)23 Leaf Color Chart (Ilocano)24 Leaf Color Chart (Filipino)25 Equipment for Rice Production and Processing26 Useof40kgCertifiedSeedsperHectare27 Rice Wine28 Management of Field Rats29 Controlled Irrigation: Saving water while having good yield30 Minus-one Element Technique: Soilnutritiondeficiencytestmadeeasy31 Management of the Rice Black Bug

32 ManagementofZinc-deficientSoils33 Management Options for the Golden Apple Snail34 Use of Evaporation Suppressant35 Pagpaparami ng Purong Binhi ng Palay36 ManagementofSulfur-Deficient Lowland Rice Soils37 Management of Planthoppers and Leafhoppers38 ManagementOptionsforRicefieldWeeds39 Use of Indigo as Green Manure40 Management of Salt-affected Soils for Rice Production41 Wet-Seeded Rice Production42 Matatag Lines43 Hybrid Rice Seed Production44 Metarhizium anisopliae: Microbial Control Agent for Rice Black Bug45 Integrated Nutrient Management for Rice Production46 Management of Armyworms/Cutworms47 Carbonized Rice Hull48 Rice-based Microbial Inoculant49 Integrated Farm and Household Waste Management50 Rice Postproduction Practices51 Ecological Rice Farming52ModifiedDryDirectSeedingTechnology53 Palayamanan: Making the Most out of Rice Farms 54 Practical Guidelines in Predicting Soil Fertility Status of Lowland Rice Soils55 Bakanae: The Foolish Disease of Rice56 Management of Rice Blast Disease57 Root-knot Management in Rice-Onion Cropping System58 Management of Yellow and White Stemborers59 The PhilRice Dapog Technology60 Rice Straw-Based Nutrient Management in Irrigated Lowland Rice

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Foreword

Technologies offering fertilizer use reduction provide relief to every financially-stressed farmer. Hence, the Integrated PestManagement-Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM-CRSP) has a good alternative to commercial fertilizers helping vegetable farmers save on production cost while causing no harm to humans and the environment.

IPM-CRSP recommends the use of biological methods in crop managementparticularlytheuseofbeneficialmicroorganismssuchas fungi.

Vesicular Arbuscular Myccorhizae or VAM is an association of a beneficialfungusandtherootsofhigherplants.Thefunguspenetratestherootsystemofacropsuchasonion,tomato,andeggplant.Thefungus protects the crops from soil-borne pathogens and improves the crop’s absorption of resources such as nutrients and water from the soil.

The use of VAM as biological fertilizer reduces chemical fertil-izer use from 60-80%. It was developed by the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of the University of the Philip-pines Los Baños.

VAM’sroleintheimprovementofcrop’syieldandquality,andnutrientandwateruseefficiencyprovestoworktowardsustainableagriculture.

ForourfarmerstofullybenefitfromVAM,thepublicationispro-duced to disseminate this good news on rice-based cropping system. This bulletin presents the how-tos in VAM production and application. The production of this technology bulletin is funded by IPM-CRSP and PL 480-PhilRice.

RONILO A. BERONIO Executive Director

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Vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM)isasymbioticassociationofabeneficialfungus and a plant. The VAM fungus produces spores called vesicles (V) and modi-fiedhyphaecalledarbuscules(A)insidetheroot.Thefungusalsoproduceshyphaeoutsidetherootsthatserveasrootextension,therebyincreasingtheplant’spotentialto absorb water and nutrients from the soil.

Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (VAM)

VAM root inoculants are cut dried roots of matured corn inoculated with VAM at seeding.Duringharvest,soiladheringonthecornrootsisremovedandtherootsare cut into small pieces to become VAM root inoculant.

The VAM root inoculant can be mixed with soil or other carriers for ease of applica-tion.

The soil used for the propagation of VAM canalsobeapplieddirectlyinthefieldduringseeding and sowing.

A V

Vesicles (V) and arbuscules (A) of VAM

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Advantages

VAM can prevent soil-borne diseases such as:

damping-off

1. Protects plants from soil-borne diseases by producing healthierseedlings with higher percentage of survival and resistance to plant diseases.

2. Serves as soil conditioner by making the soil porous.3. Reduces fertilizer use by 60-80 percent.4. Improves crop stand.5. Helps increase yield.6. Environment-friendly.

pink root

root knot

bulb rot

tom

atoe

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stem rotdamping-off

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s

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Benefits of VAM

Pineapple w/o VAM

Pineapple with VAM Pepper with VAM

Pepper w/o VAM

Eggplant Onions

without VAM

with VAM

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VAM root inoculant production (community-level)

Materials:

1. Sterilized garden soil

2. Clay pots

3. Native corn seeds

4. VAM starter inoculant

Method:

1. Sterilize soil by heating for 2-4 hours using a big pan or talyasi or by drying under intense heat of the sun for 2-3 days.

2. Place the sterilized soil in thoroughly cleaned and dry clay pots.

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b

3. After cooling the soil,placeapinchof root starter in-oculant then cover with a thin layer of soil.

4. Sow 3-5 corn seeds in each pot.

5. Grow the plants for three months under normal conditions. Protect the plants from pest and diseases. Stop watering the plants after 3 months. Cut the plants or stalks when they are completely dried. Allow the soil in the pot to dry further.

7

b

6. Remove soil ad-hering to the roots. Cuttherootsfinelyand save some root inoculants for future use. Mix thefinelycutrootswith the soil from the pot to produce VAM soil inocu-lants.

7. Store the root and soil inoculants in sealed plastic bags in a dry and cold place.

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1. Broadcast VAM soil inoculant thinly on prepared seedbed.

2. Cover VAM soil inoculant with a thin layer of soil.

3. Sow seeds on the seedbed with VAM.

4. Cover seeds with a thin layer of soil.

5.Ifnecessary,applyfertilizer15daysaftersowing.

VAM application in seedbed

Do not use chemical fertilizer on seedbed before sowing if VAM is to be applied.

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NOTES

NOTES

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Subject Matter Specialists

PhilRice Herminia R. Rapusas Evelyn B. Gergon, Ph.D. Salvacion E. SantiagoJun M. Ramos Biotech, UPLB

Marilyn B. Brown, Ph.D.Maria Lourdes Q. SisonAdora M. de Castro

Managing Editor/Desktop Artist

Hanah Hazel Mavi M. Biag

Editorial Advisers

Ronilo A. Beronio

Andrei B. Lanuza

Formoreinformation,texttheFarmers’TextCenter(0920)911-1398;

write,visit,orcall:

Integrated Pest Management-Collaborative Research and Support ProgramPhilippine Rice Research InstituteMaligaya,ScienceCityofMuñoz,NuevaEcija3119Tel.No.(044)456-0285;-0113;-0651local221.

Readers are encouraged to reproduce the content of this bulletin with acknowledgment. Suggested citation:

PhilRice. “Biofertilizer Production: Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae.” Rice Technology BulletinNo.61:14p.,October2009.

(DA) PL 480