Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Communities in Organic and Conventional Onion Crops in the Columbia Basin of the Pacific Northwest United States

Onions are highly responsive to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), but little is known about AMF communities in onion crops (∼10,000 ha) in the semiarid, irrigated region of the Columbia Basin of Washington and Oregon. AMF communities and root colonization were compared in organic and conventional onion fields, and between paired conventional fields that were fumigated or not with metam sodium. AMF were detected in all fields at all sampling times, with no differences in root colonization of onions used to bait soil from organic versus conventional and fumigated versus nonfumigated fields. However, AMF colonization of roots of onion plants sampled midsummer was greater in organic versus conventional fields (67 versus 51%) and less in fumigated versus nonfumigated conventional fields (45 versus 67%). Pyrosequencing identified four AMF genera (Glomus, Claroideoglomus, Paraglomus, and Diversispora) and four dominant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) (Glomus mosseae (Funneliformis mosseae), Glomus Whitfield type 17, Claroideoglomus lamellosum, and Glomus MO_G17). AMF community structure in roots of onion plants collected from crops midsummer was different in organic versus conventional crops, with greater AMF diversity and richness in organic than conventional crops. There was no effect of organic versus conventional crops on dominant OTUs, but several low-abundance OTUs in organic fields were not detected in conventional fields. There was no consistent effect of metam sodium chemigation on AMF communities in onion crops. Overall, cropping practices in organic versus conventional onion production, and the use of metam sodium soil fumigation by center-pivot chemigation do not appear to be major drivers of AMF communities.