Assessment of Agro-Ecological Apple Replant Disease (ARD) Management Strategies: Organic Fertilisation and Inoculation with Mycorrhizal Fungi and Bacteria

Apple replant disease (ARD) impacts the economic yield of orchards by physiological and morphological suppression apple trees on replanted soils. The complexity caused a plethora biological interactions physical properties soil requires complex management strategies to mitigate these effects. Based expert recommendations, we selected two linked agroecological principles (a) organic fertilisation with specific mulch composition (MDK) (b) biofertilisation arbuscular mycorrhizal bacterial strains (AMFbac), applied existing products. For both provide proof-of-concept, pot field experiments. Both treatments have potential ARD effects plant vigour. effect was fully mitigated MDK treatment in short-term (one year) up 29% after seven years (long-term). provides an additional substrate for root growth. AMFbac has vigour but non-replicable plant-beneficial its current form application. Thereby our results show principal not overcome inducing While is found resource intensive reliable, more user-friendly.