Arbuscular mycorrhiza promotes the clean production of subtropical orchards

The intensive management of orchards is posing substantial pressure to the surrounding environments, threatening the fruit quality and sustainable development of fruit industry. Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) is ubiquitous in soil established with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi colonizing roots of host plants. AM connects the roots, bacteria and soil, enhancing the interactions between plants and soil microbiome, augmenting the nutrient uptake of plants, improving fitness in facing abiotic and biotic stresses, and strengthening the soil structure and function. Thus, AM is considered as an important grasp to improve the clean production, and an alternative for the shift from intensive to organic management in orchards. Our study showed that the disappearance or reduction of AM fungi community, in accordance with strong soil erosion and the losses of phosphorus. The practices, such as sod culture in orchards or inoculating with AM fungi, is beneficial to the recovery of AM fungi community. More suitable measures aiming at optimize the AM fungi community are being developed and extended in subtropical orchards. Collectively, the regulation of AM fungi community can be a significant way to improve the degree of clean productions of subtropical orchards.