Phosphorus mobilizing consortium Mammoth P(™) enhances plant growth

PeerJ. 2016 Jun 14:4:e2121. doi: 10.7717/peerj.2121. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Phosphorus (P) is a critical nutrient used to maximize plant growth and yield. Current agriculture management practices commonly experience low plant P use efficiency due to natural chemical sorption and transformations when P fertilizer is applied to soils. A perplexing challenge facing agriculture production is finding sustainable solutions to deliver P more efficiently to plants. Using prescribed applications of specific soil microbial assemblages to mobilize soil bound-P to improve crop nutrient uptake and productivity has rarely been employed. We investigated whether inoculation of soils with a bacterial consortium developed to mobilize soil P, named Mammoth P(TM), could increase plant productivity. In turf, herbs, and fruits, the combination of conventional inorganic fertilizer combined with Mammoth P(TM) increased productivity up to twofold compared to the fertilizer treatments without the Mammoth P(TM) inoculant. Jalapeño plants were found to bloom more rapidly when treated with either Mammoth P. In wheat trials, we found that Mammoth P(TM) by itself was able to deliver yields equivalent to those achieved with conventional inorganic fertilizer applications and improved productivity more than another biostimulant product. Results from this study indicate the substantial potential of Mammoth P(TM) to enhance plant growth and crop productivity.

Keywords: Bacteria; Herbs; Jalapeño; Phosphorus mobilization; Tomato; Turf grass; Wheat.

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the US Department of Agriculture (#2015-67030-22990), the Colorado State University Research Foundation (#14BGF19A), the National Science Foundation (#DEB-1020540) and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and Intl Trade (#19KO BSGR ECFCP7122). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.