Dataset Information

Belowground Interactions Impact the Soil Bacterial Community, Soil Fertility, and Crop Yield in Maize/Peanut Intercropping Systems.

ABSTRACT: Intercropping has been widely used to control disease and improve yield in agriculture. In this study, maize and peanut were used for non-separation intercropping (NS), semi-separation intercropping (SS) using a nylon net, and complete separation intercropping (CS) using a plastic sheet. In field experiments, two-year land equivalent ratios (LERs) showed yield advantages due to belowground interactions when using NS and SS patterns as compared to monoculture. In contrast, intercropping without belowground interactions (CS) showed a yield disadvantage. Meanwhile, in pot experiments, belowground interactions (found in NS and SS) improved levels of soil-available nutrients (nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P)) and enzymes (urease and acid phosphomonoesterase) as compared to intercropping without belowground interactions (CS). Soil bacterial community assay showed that soil bacterial communities in the NS and SS crops clustered together and were considerably different from the CS crops. The diversity of bacterial communities was significantly improved in soils with NS and SS. The abundance of beneficial bacteria, which have the functions of P-solubilization, pathogen suppression, and N-cycling, was improved in maize and peanut soils due to belowground interactions through intercropping. Among these bacteria, numbers of Bacillus, Brevibacillusbrevis, and Paenibacillus were mainly increased in the maize rhizosphere. Burkholderia, Pseudomonas, and Rhizobium were mainly increased in the peanut rhizosphere. In conclusion, using maize and peanut intercropping, belowground interactions increased the numbers of beneficial bacteria in the soil and improved the diversity of the bacterial community, which was conducive to improving soil nutrient (N and P) supply capacity and soil microecosystem stability.

SUBMITTER: Li Q

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5855844 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Belowground Interactions Impact the Soil Bacterial Community, Soil Fertility, and Crop Yield in Maize/Peanut Intercropping Systems.

Li Qisong Q Chen Jun J Wu Linkun L Luo Xiaomian X Li Na N Arafat Yasir Y Lin Sheng S Lin Wenxiong W

International journal of molecular sciences 20180222 2

Intercropping has been widely used to control disease and improve yield in agriculture. In this study, maize and peanut were used for non-separation intercropping (NS), semi-separation intercropping (SS) using a nylon net, and complete separation intercropping (CS) using a plastic sheet. In field experiments, two-year land equivalent ratios (LERs) showed yield advantages due to belowground interactions when using NS and SS patterns as compared to monoculture. In contrast, intercropping without b ...[more]

PMID: 29470429

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Project description:BackgroundThe importance of organic farming has increased through the years to promote food security allied with minimal harm to the ecosystem. Besides the environmental benefits, a recurring problem associated with organic management is the unsatisfactory yield. A possible solution may rely on the soil microbiome, which presents a crucial role in the soil system. Here, we aimed to evaluate the soil bacterial community structure and composition under organic and conventional farming, considering the tropical climate and tropical soil.MethodologyOur organic management treatments were composed by composted poultry manure and green manure with Bokashi. Both organic treatments were based on low nitrogen inputs. We evaluated the soil bacterial community composition by high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes, soil fertility, and soil enzyme activity in two organic farming systems, one conventional and the last transitional from conventional to organic.ResultsWe observed that both organic systems evaluated in this study, have higher yield than the conventional treatment, even in a year with drought conditions. These yield results are highly correlated with changes in soil chemical properties and enzymatic activity. The attributes pH, Ca, P, alkaline phosphatase, and β- glucosidase activity are positively correlated with organic systems, while K and Al are correlated with conventional treatment. Also, our results show in the organic systems the changes in the soil bacteria community, being phyla Acidobacteria, Firmicutes, Nitrospirae, and Rokubacteria the most abundant. These phyla were correlated with soil biochemical changes in the organic systems, helping to increase crop yields.ConclusionDifferent organic management systems, (the so-called natural and organic management systems, which use distinct organic sources), shift the soil bacterial community composition, implying changes in their functionalities. Also, our results contributed to the identification of target bacterial groups and changes in soil chemical properties and enzymatic activity in a trophic organic farming system, which may contribute to higher crop yields.

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Project description:IntroductionThe decomposition of plant litter mass is responsible for substantial carbon fluxes and remains a key process regulating nutrient cycling in natural and managed ecosystems. Litter decomposition has been addressed in agricultural monoculture systems, but not in intercropping systems, which produce species-diverse litter mass mixtures. The aim here is to quantify how straw type, the soil environment and their combined effects may influence straw decomposition in widely practiced maize/legume intercropping systems.MethodsThree decomposition experiments were conducted over 341 days within a long-term intercropping field experiment which included two nitrogen (N) addition levels (i.e. no-N and N-addition) and five cropping systems (maize, soybean and peanut monocultures and maize/soybean and maize/peanut intercropping). Experiment I was used to quantify litter quality effects on decomposition; five types of straw (maize, soybean, peanut, maize-soybean and maize-peanut) from two N treatments decomposed in the same maize plot. Experiment II addressed soil environment effects on root decomposition; soybean straw decomposed in different plots (five cropping systems and two N levels). Experiment III addressed 'home' decomposition effects whereby litter mass (straw) was remained to decompose in the plot of origin. The contribution of litter and soil effects to the home-field advantages was compared between experiment III ('home' plot) and I-II ('away' plot).Results and discussionsStraw type affected litter mass loss in the same soil environment (experiment I) and the mass loss values of maize, soybean, peanut, maize-soybean, and maize-peanut straw were 59, 77, 87, 76, and 78%, respectively. Straw type also affected decomposition in the 'home' plot environment (experiment III), with mass loss values of maize, soybean, peanut, maize-soybean and maize-peanut straw of 66, 74, 80, 72, and 76%, respectively. Cropping system did not affect the mass loss of soybean straw (experiment II). Nitrogen-addition significantly increased straw mass loss in experiment III. Decomposition of maize-peanut straw mixtures was enhanced more by 'home-field advantage' effects than that of maize-soybean straw mixtures. There was a synergistic mixing effect of maize-peanut and maize-soybean straw mixture decomposition in both 'home' (experiment III) and 'away' plots (experiment I). Maize-peanut showed greater synergistic effects than maize-soybean in straw mixture decomposition in their 'home' plot (experiment III). These findings are discussed in terms of their important implications for the management of species-diverse straw in food-production intercropping systems.

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Dataset Information

Belowground Interactions Impact the Soil Bacterial Community, Soil Fertility, and Crop Yield in Maize/Peanut Intercropping Systems.

Publications

Belowground Interactions Impact the Soil Bacterial Community, Soil Fertility, and Crop Yield in Maize/Peanut Intercropping Systems.

Similar Datasets

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