Economic Feasibility of Mycorrhizae Inoculant On Corn.

Economic Feasibility of Mycorrhizae Inoculant on Corn

Growing corn is very input-intensive in terms of fertilizers, fungicides and herbicides.  Whether or not an input increases yields often reflects how much or how often the input is applied.  Economic and cost efficiency are the underlying factors that make growing crops a success or failure.  The purpose of this study is to compare the economic feasibility of applying mycorrhizae inoculant to corn seed and analyze it in terms of net yield increases vs. the cost of application.  The inoculants will be compared side by side with and without irrigation to a non-inoculated control.  Applying mycorrhizae to agronomic crops in the field is a relatively new practice that is intended to increase yields. Mycorrhizae promotes the growth of roots and root hairs which ultimately enhances the ability to uptake nutrients and water that could be otherwise unavailable to the plant.