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In order to find a more efficient, economical, and environmentally friendly chemical fertilizer alternative, we have developed a new type of microbial fertilizer. The reported types of functional microorganisms in biofertilizers are mostly single and concentrated in nitrogen-fixing bacteria and phosphate-solubilizing bacteria. Here we evaluate the effect of the compound microbial fertilizer with several kinds of functional bacteria. A field experiment was conducted with five treatments (no-fertilization control, regular fertilization 600 kg ha −1 , compound microbial fertilizer 750 kg ha −1 , compound microbial fertilizer 900 kg ha −1 , compound microbial fertilizer 1050 kg ha −1). The effects of the compound microbial fertilizer on wheat traits, grain yield, soil physical and chemical properties, and microbial community structure were investigated. The results showed that the compound microbial fertilizer as base fertilizer could not only enhance the contents of soil available phosphorus and available potassium but also enhance the grain yield markedly. The compound microbial fertilizer could affect the microbial community, and the change of the microbial community was more correlated with growth period of wheat. The results established that the compound microbial fertilizer which can reduce part of the amount of chemical fertilizer can enhance wheat yield and the recommended dose of the fertilizer is 750 kg ha −1 in the study area.

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Summary N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) is the most prevalent internal modification present in mRNAs, and is considered to participate in a range of developmental and biological processes. Drought response is highly regulated at the genomic, transcriptional and post‐transcriptional levels. However, the biological function and regulatory mechanism of m6A modification in the drought stress response is still poorly understood. We generated a transcriptome‐wide m6A map using drought‐resistant and drought‐sensitive varieties of cotton under different water deficient conditions to uncover patterns of m6A methylation in cotton response to drought stress. The results reveal that m6A represents a common modification and exhibit dramatic changes in distribution during drought stress. More 5'UTR m6A was deposited in the drought‐resistant variety and was associated with a positive effect on drought resistance by regulating mRNA abundance. Interestingly, we observed that increased m6A abundance was associated with increased mRNA abundance under drought, contributing to drought resistance, and vice versa. The demethylase GhALKBH10B was found to decrease m6A levels, facilitating the mRNA decay of ABA signal‐related genes (GhZEP, GhNCED4 and GhPP2CA) and Ca2+ signal‐related genes (GhECA1, GhCNGC4, GhANN1 and GhCML13), and mutation of GhALKBH10B enhanced drought resistance at seedling stage in cotton. Virus‐induced gene silencing (VIGS) of two Ca2+‐related genes, GhECA1 and GhCNGC4, reduced drought resistance with the decreased m6A enrichment on silenced genes in cotton. Collectively, we reveal a novel mechanism of post‐transcriptional modification involved in affecting drought response in cotton, by mediating m6A methylation on targeted transcripts in the ABA and Ca2+ signalling transduction pathways.