Responses of Soil Abiotic Properties and Microbial Community Structure to 25-Year Cucumber Monoculture in Commercial Greenhouses

Abstract

Cucumber monoculture could cause soil salinization and acidification, soilborne diseases, and eventually yield loss. However, after a 25-year monoculture in Wafangdian county, Liaoning province, China, cucumber yields have remained satisfactory. In the present study, we investigated how the soil abiotic and biotic properties, in addition to soil rhizosphere microbial community structure in the greenhouses, could still sustain plant growth after such long-term monoculture production. Soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and available nitrogen were accumulated significantly after monoculture. Such increasing soil fertility was accompanied by increased soil microbial abundance, which reshaped soil microbial community structure. Both bacterial and fungal diversity, including observed and estimated richness, Heip evenness, and Shannon diversity, decreased significantly, while the monoculture period had a greater influence on fungal diversity than on bacterial diversity. Although the high accumulation of soil nutrients increased soil salinity and acidity, the abundance of potential plant pathogenic fungi did not show an obvious increase. These results indicated that maintaining soil abiotic and biotic properties using organic fertilizers and balanced chemical fertilizers, especially improving potassium fertilizer application, could be useful measurements for the sustainable development of greenhouse vegetable production. In addition, appropriate management strategies should be considered to reduce the potential risk of soil salinization.

Management of Salt-Affected Soils: A Photographic Mini-Review

“…10). However, greenhouses may cause problems for cultivated plants due to altered soil bacterial community structure, especially in arid regions (Liu et al 2020;Gao et al 2021).…”

Effect of soil management systems on the rhizosphere bacterial community structure of tobacco: Continuous cropping vs. paddy-upland rotation

“…In comparison, the rotation cropping of different plant species is beneficial to maintain the balance of the rhizosphere soil microbial community ( Liu et al, 2022 ). The soil microbial community can serve as a sensitive bioindicator of soil health due to its quick response to environmental changes and close relationship with soil conditions and land management ( Sharma et al, 2011 ), which would consequently influence plant growth and health ( Gao et al, 2021 ). Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the relationship between the structural changes in microbial communities and tobacco cropping systems.…”

Combination of Bacillus and Low Fertigation Input Promoted the Growth and Productivity of Chinese Cabbage and Enriched Beneficial Rhizosphere Bacteria Lechevalieria

“…Sample Preparation The soil samples were collected at different growing stages. Before sowing seeds, 2 g of bulk soil at a depth of 5-10 cm was collected from each ridge in a zigzag pattern [44], thoroughly mixed, and stored at −80 • C (S0). Using the same method, the cabbage seedlings were picked up and the rhizosphere soil tightly adhering to the roots of 3-4 cabbage seedlings was collected from each treatment before water stress (last day of stage T1) and after water stress (last day of stage T2) as described by Lundberg et al [33].…”