Effects of different fertilization treatments on Verticillium wilt of cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiformme) and rhizosphere soil microbial communities

Abstract

The mechanisms by which organic fertilizers suppress Verticillium wilt in cherry tomato (Solanum lycpersicum var. cerasiforme) remain unclear. It is hypothesized that these fertilizers influence the microbial community in the rhizosphere, fostering a healthier microenvironment. This study utilized amplicon-based sequencing to examine how cherry tomato rhizosphere microbial communities evolve under three fertilization treatments and to analyze their relationship with disease incidence. Results showed that organic fertilizer (OF) significantly reduced the incidence of Verticillium wilt (P = 0.042), whereas inorganic fertilizer (CF) had no significant effect. OF in-creased fungal diversity in the rhizosphere (P = 0.04) and enhanced the fungal community structure and composition, though bacterial communities were not significantly affected. Both OF and CF increased the relative abundance of Proteobacteria and Ascomycota while reducing Acidobacteria and Basidiomycota compared to the control group (CK). Soil pH was the strongest factor influ-encing bacterial community composition (Mantel test: r ≥ 0.2, P < 0.05), while total nitrogen (TN) strongly impacted fungal community composition. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed that OF increased microbial community complexity and interspecies interactions, whereas CF di-minished them. Cross-kingdom bacterial-fungal network analysis identified 26 key fungal species negatively correlated with disease incidence (r = −0.77, P = 0.04). These findings suggest that OF reshapes the rhizosphere fungal community, enhancing diversity and interspecies interactions while suppressing disease through key taxa. This provides new evidence for the role of organic fertilizers in managing Verticillium wilt in cherry tomatoes.