Strawberry monocropping: Impacts on fruit yield and soil microorganisms

Abstract

The objective of this work was to explore the impacts of intensive strawberry monocropping during five years on the fruit-yield and on the microbial soil activity and composition. Field trials were performed in two plots: P1(a soil with five years of consecutive strawberry cropping), and P2 (a soil with just one year of strawberry cropping). Fruit-yield was quantified; total microorganisms and four functional groups (cellulolytics, nitrogen-fixers, phosphate solubilizers, and siderophores producers) were quantified, isolated and characterized in both plots.Total microbial activity was assessed by the hydrolysis of fluorescein-diacetate and soil respiration methods. As results, in P1, a 51 % decrease in fruit-yield was observed, while in P2 it was closer to the yield obtained in P1 during the first and second year of cultivation. Total microbial number and activity were 23 % and 70 % lower in P1 than in P2 at the end of the cropping, respectively. In general, the quantity of total culturable microorganisms and the functional groups analyzed were significantly higher in P2 than in P1 (p< 0.05).The most prevailing bacteria putatively identified were Cellulosimicrobium cellulans, Paenibacillus sp., Azospirillum brasilense, and Burkholderia sp. According to our results, the intensive cultivation of strawberry for several years in the same field exerted a negative impact on the soil quality, affecting the native microbial population, which might be linked to the fruit yield decline.

Key soil parameters affecting the survival of Panax notoginseng under continuous cropping

“…Similar problem is widespread in other crops such as apple, cucumber, strawberry, and potato 4 , 5 . In ecology, such negative plant-soil feedback is viewed as a type of Janzen–Connell effect 6 .…”

“…For example, phosphatase helps to mineralize organic P, which responds to changes in soil management 19 . Decline in soil enzyme activities have been observed for crops after continuous cropping including strawberry, cucumber, potato, cotton, and Sanqi, partly due to the altered soil properties and microbial communities 5,22,[36][37][38] . For instance, Sun et al 22 showed that the activities of phosphatase and urease in the soil decreased 69 and 92% after 3 year of continuous cropping of Sanqi.…”

“…Soil enzyme activities often decrease under continuous cropping 21 . For example, Lovaisa et al 5 reported a significant decline in enzyme activity after 5-year continuous cropping of strawberry. In addition, Sun et al 22 showed a decrease in soil enzyme activities with the continued growth of Sanqi, consistent with the significant difference in rhizospheric soil enzyme activities between healthy and diseased Sanqi plants.…”

The Influence of an Innovative Bioproduct on Soil and Substrate Characteristics during Strawberry Cultivation

“…It is likely that using a biological product for a longer period of time would have a stronger effect on the physical properties of the samples, especially those made on a peat base and prepared for use in greenhouses. This is even more true because, over time, the microbial biomass and activity in the soil decrease [50]. Other scientists claim that due to the use of biological products and other biostimulators, the amount of organic carbon in the soil increases [20,22].…”

Chemical and Biological Properties of Potted-Soil for Strawberry Cultivation

“…Sufficient organic matter increased the soil quality and microbial population that is necessary for long term strawberry production (Medeiros et al, 2015;Lovaisa et al, 2017). Soil organic matters support the proliferation of heterotrophic microbes in soil and their function in macronutrient nutrient cycle (Hoorman et al, 2010).…”