SS 2: Field Implementation of Microbial Inoculation: Concepts in Community Ecology and Challenges for Technology Development and Policy

Monday, August 2, 2021

9:30 AM – 10:30 AM Pacific

Session Organizer(s)

Kelsey Carter

Earth & Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos, NM, USA

Moderator(s)

Sangeeta Negi

Bioscience Division
Los Alamos National Laboratory

Volunteer(s)

Brianne Palmer

Plant Science, University of California, Davis
San Diego, California, United States

Session Co-organizers: Louise H. Comas, Water Management Research Unit, USDA - Agricultural Research Service, Fort Collins, CO, Sanna Sevanto, Earth & Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, L. Turin Dickman, Earth & Environmental Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM, Eric R. Moore, Bioscience Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM

Providing effective tools to inoculate systems with a microbiome that can reliably improve plant functioning is an essential and immediate need in agriculture. From improved nutrient uptake and stress tolerance to growth promotion and pathogen resistance, plant-associated microorganisms provide their hosts with the fitness advantages necessary to maintain function and resilience in the face of change. Studies have identified many microbial taxa that can aid plants’ ability to thrive under stress; however, successful inoculation of key microbes in a field setting is inconsistent. Individual microbial taxa and microbial consortia often cannot successfully compete or thrive once they are introduced to a native microbial community that is already adapted to the dynamic field environment.
This special session assembles experts across a diverse range of institutions to shed light on some of the challenges and potential resolutions to this very complex issue. We will highlight some of the progress made in understanding interactions among natural and introduced microbial communities, and emerging methods that may be used to improve applications of beneficial microorganisms in field settings. The session will include an introduction followed by short panelist presentations outlining current progress in addressing aspects of community functions, technology gaps, policy issues, and attempts to overcome the difficult nature of successfully implementing microbial inoculations in the field. We will then open the discussion to the audience and panel members to engage in a meaningful conversation of the many challenges impacting this emerging field.

Presentations:

ON DEMAND

Arrival order matters for the assembly and function of microbial communities in the phyllosphere
Presenting Author: Posy E. Busby – Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University
ON DEMAND

Considering effectiveness and feasibility in methods for soil inoculum application
Presenting Author: Jennifer Jones – Michigan State University
ON DEMAND

Input intensive or ecologically extensive? Framing microbial inoculants’ role in diversified farming systems
Presenting Author: Yvonne Socolar – Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California - Berkeley
ON DEMAND

Soil microbial complexity influences inoculum success
Presenting Author: Daniel Manter – Water Management Research Unit, USDA - Agricultural Research Service