Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Attainment of Food Security

The reciprocal give-and-take relationship of a fungus that colonises the plant root is termed mycorrhizae. The prime partner in the association is the fungus, whose obligation is to provide food and growth hormones to the plant. The fungus is also saddled with the responsibility of shielding the plant from pathogens. Reciprocal alliances are formed by several plants and crops with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. This interchangeable relationship has propelled the occurrence of new techniques in crop breeding and agricultural methods to buttress and advance arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in agroecosystems. The beneficial effect of AMF could be highly favourable to crops and the ecosystem at large in several ways, such as furnishing great resilience to plant diseases and enabling amelioration of the soil structure. The colonisation does not automatically bring about amplified plant burgeoning and high crop yield because land management customs, which motivate mycorrhiza–crop relationships, do not favour higher yield from crops. Land management traditions that could stimulate AMF, such as low tillage and a reduction in the use of chemicals. The functions of mycorrhiza such as its positive effect on nutrition and growth of the host plant, are shifted through intensive agricultural exercise. In general, the role of mycorrhizas is brought down by the high availability of nutrients from synthetic fertilisers to common symbionts, and in some cases. The tropical ecosystems of the world are blessed with a high abundance and diversity of AMF, which have great potential for improving agroecosystems. This chapter aspires to examine crop development and growth in conjunction with AMF in tropical agroecosystems, particularly in the area of attaining food security. The key issues surrounding the non-nutritional and nutritional tasks of AMF bonding with the crops as influenced by the environment, with a focus on optimising and employing the symbiotic consortium in viable management policies for excellent crop production have also been taken into account.