Effects of planting of two common crops, Allium fistulosum and Brassica napus, on soil properties and microbial communities of ginseng cultivation in northeast China

Abstract

Background Long-term cultivation of ginseng can cause severe crop disorders and soil sickness. Crop rotation is an effective agricultural management measure to improve soil sustainability and decrease pathogens. However, the suitable ginseng rotation system and the changes in soil microbial community and soil characteristics under the rotation system need to be further explored. Methods To explore suitable ginseng crop rotation systems and improve soil utilization, Allium fistulosum and Brassica napus were planted on ginseng cultivation soil for one year. The effects of the two crops on the chemical properties and enzyme activities of the ginseng cultivation soil were evaluated by chemical analysis. In addition, amplicon sequencing targeting 16 s rDNA genes of bacteria and ITS of fungi has been used to characterize the functional and compositional diversity of microbial communities. Results The results elucidated that the levels of available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK) in the soil increased significantly after one year of cultivation for both crops and Allium fistulosum cultivation may also have reduced soil salinity. In addition, the effects of the two crops on the activities of key soil enzymes were different. Catalase (CAT), urease (URE), and acid phosphatase (A-PHO) activities were significantly reduced and sucrase (SUC), and laccase (LAC) activities were significantly increased after Allium fistulosum planting. While A-PHO activity was significantly increased and LAC activity was significantly decreased after Brassica napus planting. Allium fistulosum significantly reduced the abundance of soil fungal communities. The cultivation of Allium fistulosum and Brassica napus significantly altered the composition of soil bacterial and fungal communities, where changes in the abundance of dominant microorganisms, such as Ascomycota, and Mortierellomycota, etc., were closely related to soil chemistry and enzyme activity. Moreover, both significantly reduced the abundance of the pathogenic fungus Ilyonectria. Conclusions Our study clarified the effects of Allium fistulosum and Brassica napus on the microbial community and physicochemical properties of ginseng cultivated soil and provides a basis for the sustainable application of ginseng cultivation soil and the development of ginseng crop rotation systems.

Improving the Key Enzyme Activity, Conversion Intensity, and Nitrogen Supply Capacity of Soil through Optimization of Long-Term Oilseed Flax Rotation Planting Patterns in Dry Areas of the Loess Plateau of China

“…The nitrogen conversion rate is closely related to the soil nitrogen content [19], and there is a significant correlation between the content of ammonium nitrate nitrogen. A reasonable crop rotation pattern can lead to a significantly increase the abundance of microbes and activity of enzymes related to soil nitrogen transformation, therefore significantly promoting soil nitrogen transformation and maintaining high levels of soil inorganic nitrogen content [6,8]. This study also emphasizes the importance of adding one or more crops to the nitrogen cycle, as they provide carbon and nitrogen inputs and affect nitrogen transformation and migration in the soil through the decomposition and mineralization processes of different nitrogen-containing organics [38].…”

“…Prior research indicated that an appropriate crop rotation system reduced the accumulation of mineral nitrogen in soil and reduced the loss of gaseous nitrogen or the leaching of nitrate nitrogen during the denitrification process [6,7]. Significant differences were observed in soil nitrogen components, microbial biomass, and soil enzyme activities under different crop rotation patterns [8][9][10]. After crop rotation, soil organic matter, microbial biomass carbon, and nitrogen content were significantly increased, and soil enzyme activities were enhanced, which was beneficial to maintaining soil fertility and productivity [11][12][13].…”

Exploring Reactive Oxygen Species Accumulation in Allium fistulosum L. Seeds Exposed to Different Storage Conditions

“…For instance, Tang et al [7] demonstrated the ability of the mixed cropping of apple trees with A. fistulosum L. to alleviate apple replant disease. Similarly, Bian et al [8] showed the beneficial effects of A. fistulosum planted with ginseng cultivation as well as the positive impact of and A. fistulosum cultivation in reducing soil salinity. When considering seed quality issues, to date there is still poor attention on Welsh onion.…”

Effect of reductive soil disinfestation on soil properties and microbial communities of ginseng cultivated soils, and assessment of its sterilizing effect

“…Finally, the function of soil microorganisms in each group was predicted. Soil bacterial functions were predicted using the PICRUSt tool based on 16S rRNA sequencing data, and biological functions were annotated in the KEGG database (Bian et al 2022;Gong et al 2021). Furthermore, the FUNGuild tool was used for the functional prediction and classi cation of soil fungi (Schmidt et al 2019).…”