The MYCHINTEC Project focused on the use of mycorrhiza technology to improve phosphate availability, soil fertility and productivity of staple food crops (maize, sweet potato, cassava) in small farming systems in China (Hebei, Hubei, Guangdong provinces). Plant-available phosphorus is very low in many agricultural soils in China due to phosphorus deficiency and to their high phosphate-fixing capacities. Low nutrient availability, together with reduced biological activity and microbial diversity, are primary causes of poor plant productivity all over the world. Heavy inputs of fertilisers and pesticides are necessary to restore an acceptable level of plant productivity but such management practices are expensive and a source of pollution which further affects soil activity, having deleterious effects on the environment and therefore food quality. Maintenance of sustainable soil fertility depends greatly on the ability to harness the benefits of soil microorganisms, like symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, known to be involved in the underlying processes. The specific objectives of the Project were therefore to (i) isolate, characterise and maintain Chinese AM fungi in a Stock Centre, (ii) set up an on-line database for germplasm registration, (iii) select symbiotically effective AM fungi from the Stock Centre and produce quality-controlled inoculum on a large scale, (iv) develop molecular tools to appreciate and monitor AM fungal diversity in field soils, and (v) apply mycorrhiza technology to food crop production in small-scale farming systems in China.

The results from MYCHINTEC have clearly demonstrated the feasibility of mycorrhiza technology to improve staple food crop production in small-scale farms. The originality of the Project lies in the fact that it has mustered the whole chain of development, from isolating and identifying efficient fungi to a pre-commercial inoculum product and its successful introduction into traditional farming systems. Pure cultures of taxonomically defined AM fungi from north (Hebei), central (Hubei) and south (Guangdong, Hong Kong) China were established in a Chinese Stock Centre without walls, and isolates registered in a publicly accessible, international database adapted to this purpose (www.kent.ac.uk/bio/beg/). These fungi can now be disseminated across the scientific community to sustain research and application using verified cultures. The ecophysiological attributes were defined for AM fungi from the Chinese Stock Centre, and those with enhanced symbiotic capabilities to improve plant productivity were cultured into quality-controlled, soil-based inoculum useable by farmers. Their molecular identity was defined by ribosomal gene sequencing and genetic tags were devised to track their fate after field inoculation. Introduction by farmers of symbiotically efficient AM fungal isolates into traditional Chinese crop production systems increased sweet potato (Hebei), maize (Hubei) and cassava (Guangdong) yields up to 16, 14 and 62% respectively, and enhanced crop nutrient quality in some cases. Site-related variability existed in productivity-promoting effects and persistence of effective inocula, validated by molecular monitoring. Farmers appreciated the potential economic gains from the mycorrhiza technology implemented by the Project. The potential for scaling up of inoculum production by SMEs and exploitation by growers in China now exists. Furthermore, the development of on-farm inoculum production from high quality starter cultures would reduce the price of AM technology to Chinese farmers.

The successful outcome of the collaboration between Chinese and European researchers, also seen in numerous publications, scientific communications and training of early stage researchers, clearly illustrates the benefits that have been drawn from the close, transcontinental, scientific cooperation and the pooling of complementary expertise. Although the present technology may not be well suited to today’s intensive European agriculture, because of large-scale planting methods, it does have obvious potential in other markets both in China and in Europe for cash crops (vegetables, flowers), landscaping and reforestation. MYCHINTEC was chosen by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research to feature in a volume of RTD Success Stories published in 2004.