Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition最新文献

Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for cell division and the development of the growing tip of the plant, and its availability in the soil is critical to ensure common bean productivity. Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) can increase the availability of phosphorus in the soil. Then, we hypothesized that PSB inoculant could improve the agronomic traits of common bean under field conditions. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the agronomic performance of the common bean inoculated with a phosphate-solubilizing inoculant under different growing seasons and edaphoclimatic conditions.Four field experiments, carried out in three different locations, in two growing seasons within two consecutive agricultural years, were addressed to a randomized block design with five replicates and seven treatments, including: Absolute control (AC), 50% phosphate fertilization (AF50B0), full-dose phosphate fertilization (AF100B0), and four treatments with different doses of the phosphate-solubilizing inoculant in combination with 50% phosphate fertilization, namely 1 mL (AF50B1), 2 mL (AF50B2), 3 mL (AF50B3), and 4 mL (AF50B4) per kg of seeds. Root and shoot development, yield components, P accumulation in grains, and productivity were determined. The phosphate-solubilizing inoculated treatments showed significant effects on the evaluated parameters, with AF50B4 standing out as a significant influence on growth and production parameters. In general, P accumulation in grains on AF50B4 was greater than that of the AF100B0 treatment. In terms of productivity, across the four locations, the AF50B4 treatment yielded 4,111 kg ha^-1, compared to 3,496 kg ha^-1 in the AF100B0 treatment, representing a 17.6% increase. The phosphate-solubilizing inoculant, especially at a dose of 4 mL kg^-1 seed, promotes improvement in growth and yield components, providing increased grain yield and P accumulation in common bean.

Resource conservation technologies (RCTs) are recommended to address the rainfall deficits of dryland crops in semi-arid regions. Understanding the effects of RCTs on mung bean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek) plant roots and thereby yields is crucial for drought tolerance, and few studies are reported regarding this. A field study was conducted during 2015 and 2016 at Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (ICAR-CRIDA), India to evaluate root dynamics of Drought Tolerant (DTV) and Drought Susceptible (DSV) varieties of mung bean under Organic Amendment at the rate of 3 t ha^-1 (OA), resource conservation measure (in-situ Conservation Furrow for every three rows of the crop) as RCM, the combination RCM + OA under normal and deficit rainfall conditions. An innovative field root architectural sampling was followed to extract roots from different soil depths with minimal root losses. RCM increased the rooting depth by 5 cm while OA increased root length density (RLD). Together these measures improved root plasticity as early increased root length, high RLD at deeper soil depths (≥ 0.5 cm cm^− 3), and fine roots of < 1.08 mm diameter in the drought-tolerant mung bean cultivar. The estimated potential carbon additions of mung bean root to soil is 7.1–16.3 kg ha^− 1 for a single crop. Integration of both application of organic amendment and in-situ conservation furrow for every three mung bean rows to drought tolerant mung bean cultivar resulted in increased rooting depth (RD), RLD and more absorptive roots mitigated moisture stress through root adaptation under Semi-Arid Tropic (SAT) rainfed ecosystems. Soil carbon addition is the co-benefit associated with these RCTs.

Onion is one of the most popular vegetables that play a major role in boosting immunity against diseases. As a result of the successive population increase, many farmers resort to excessive use of chemical plant growth enhancers to increase the crop's productivity, which causes many health and environmental problems and reduces the sustainability of the soil. Microbial phytohormones and vitamins are safe, eco-friendly, and effective natural solutions to increase the crop's productivity and maintain the soil health at the same time. To our knowledge, until know there is no information about the roles of microbial gibberellic acid (GA₃), and vitamins on the growth and quality traits of onions. Two field experiments were conducted during two consecutive winter seasons in a sandy calcareous soil farm. Two treatments were in the main plot (without and with microbial GA₃), and six were in the sub-plot (control, chemical thiamine, ascorbic acid, riboflavin, and microbial ascorbic acid and riboflavin). Plant growth parameters including plant height, fresh weight, leaf number, bulb diameter, and neck diameter were recorded. Onion yield and their quality traits of sugar content, protein, antioxidants, vitamin C, phenols, flavonoids, and NPK were measured. The major findings revealed that plants treated with applications of microbial GA₃ or vitamin treatments significantly improved the onion yield, phenotypic, physiological, and biochemical characteristics in both seasons. In the majority of the measured parameters, the microbial ascorbic acid treatment outperformed the other vitamin treatments. The combination of foliar microbial GA₃ spray and vitamins, especially microbial ascorbic acid, and microbial riboflavin, produced the high onion yield, growth and quality traits of plant height, number of leaves, fresh weights, bulb diameter, sugar content, vitamin C, total antioxidants, total phenols, and flavonoids during both seasons. The application of microbial GA₃ in combination with microbial vitamins as foliar spraying are promising eco-friendly, cheap, plant bio-stimulators that could be used safely in the field, especially under low-fertility soil, for good growth, yield, and high-quality onions.

Soil surface electrochemistry is a science that studies the interaction and chemical behavior of charged particles (colloidal particles, ions, protons and electrons) in soil. Surface electrochemical properties (SEP) of soil have significant influences on soil fertility, aggregate stability, and contaminant migration. However, the impacts of long-term fertilization on SEP of purple soil (Eutric Regosol, FAO soil classification) have received little attention, and the factors affecting SEP also remain unclear. This study examined the effects of long-term fertilization on SEP. A field fertilization trial was established in 1991 with four treatments: no fertilization (CK), chemical fertilizer (NPK), chemical fertilizer plus pig manure (NPKM), and chemical fertilizer plus rice straw (NPKS). Soil SEP (surface potential, φ₀; surface charge density, σ₀; surface electric field strength, E; specific surface area, SSA; surface charges number, SCN) and mineralogy properties was determined. Compared with CK, NPK, NPKM, and NPKS significantly increased φ₀ by 5.21% to 20.4%, and SSA by 16.5% to 31.6% (P < 0.05). NPKM and NPKS increased σ₀ by 8.69% to 17.4%, E by 9.48% to 15.9%, and SCN by 5.21% to 20.4% (P < 0.05). In addition, NPKM and NPKS increases soil organic matter (SOM) and amorphous oxides. Redundancy analysis indicated that SOM, amorphous manganese oxides (Mno), amorphous aluminum oxides (Alo) and amorphous iron oxides (Feo) could explain 80.6%, 5.2%, 3.9% and 2.7% of the variation in SEP, respectively. Therefore, long-term inorganic and organic fertilization primarily affected purple soil SEP by regulating SOM and amorphous oxides (Mno, Alo, and Feo). The increasing of SOM content it is the key point to improving soil quality.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of silicon (Si) in counteracting a cadmium (Cd) stress to pea plants (Pisum sativum L.) and to identify the mechanism by which Cd is bound within pea roots. Methods: These goals were achieved through (i) a histochemical study of Cd localization in pea roots, (ii) spectrophotometric determination of pectin content and the activity of pectin methylesterase (PME), (iii) speciation of Cd extracted from pea roots conducted through size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP/MS). Results: Cd was found mainly in the root stele of the Cd-stressed plants. The pectin content and PME activity were lower in the Cd-stressed plants, but Si supplementation reversed these effects. Selectivity was noticed in Cd extraction efficiency with water being the least effective and enzymatic-assisted extraction proving to be the most effective. Speciation analysis revealed significant heterogeneity in molar mass, ranging from approximately 295 to 95 kDa. Galacturonic acid was identified the dominant species responsible for Cd binding. The choice of solvent for extraction markedly influenced the Cd binding profile, indicating shifts in the distribution of species’ molar mass and their relative concentrations in extracts. Conclusions: Si alleviates Cd toxicity in pea plants, and one of the mechanisms through which it operates involves increasing pectin levels and PME activity. Pectin plays an active role in Cd detoxification in the root cell walls, forming electrostatic bonds with Cd cations through its carboxyl groups.

The Xiong'an New Area (XNA) is a nationally designated region characterized by prominent emerging trends, intensive human activities, and rapid urbanization. However there needs to be more clarity regarding the comprehensive investigation of land use management impact and climate factors on soil properties within this area. We collected 544 composite topsoil samples from this region to investigate the relationship between soil properties and land use types. We analyzed how climate factors affects soil properties using geostatistics, ArcGIS, Mantel test, structural equation modeling, and random forest regression. We observed moderate levels of total nitrogen (TN), soil organic matter (SOM), total phosphorus (TP), and total potassium (TK) content, characterized by a strong overall trend in TP and TK. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of soil water content (SWC), salt salinity (SS), and electrical conductivity (EC) displayed a patchy pattern, with high-value regions predominantly concentrated in the southern, western, and northwestern areas. Path modeling unveiled the substantial influence of mean annual relative humidity (MARH) and mean annual temperature (MAT) on SOM in farmlands and park-green lands. In contrast, mean annual precipitation (MAP), MAT, and MARH exerted notable total effects on SOM in woodlands. Significant variations in soil physicochemical characteristics were observed among different land use types, particularly notable in farmlands and inland tidal flats compared to woodlands and park-green lands. These findings highlight the complex interplay between climatic factors and urban soil organic matter levels across diverse land uses, influenced by soil total nitrogen levels.

Soil nitrogen cycling is intricately related to soil physicochemical properties, enzymatic activity, and microbial vitality. Biochar, containing various elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, possesses a porous structure with strong adsorption capabilities. This characteristic renders it useful for ameliorating acidic soils, influencing soil nitrogen cycling, and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. To quantitatively analyze the diverse impacts of different biochar on soil nitrogen cycling and to highlight its implications for sustainable agriculture, this study collected 155 relevant articles and conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis. The results indicate that biochar can elevate the pH by 4.60% for acidic soils and significantly increase soil organic carbon content by 64.60%. Different feedstocks, such as Wooden Biochar (WB), Crop Husk (CH) Biochar, Crop Straw Biochar (CS), and Organic Waste Biochar (OW), exhibit distinct effects, with WB and OW showing the most significant increases in SOC. Pyrolysis temperature is also a critical factor, and biochar produced at medium and high temperatures enhances pH more effectively than low-temperature biochar. Additionally, biochar enhances the abundance of the nitrogen functional gene amoA-AOB by 25.58%, promoting ammonia oxidation, reducing ammonia (NH₃) emissions by 16.39%. Experimental setups also influence outcomes that biochar application in woods and incubation studies significantly reduced nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions compared to pot and field experiments. The findings suggest that adding biochar to soil accelerates nitrogen cycling, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The results advocate biochar’s use in sustainable soil management practices.

Graphical Abstract

Silicon (Si) is typically considered a nonessential but beneficial element for most plants, and it can alleviate nutrient imbalance stress in crops. However, few studies have investigated the impact of Si application on the growth and fruit quality of cherry tomatoes, leading uncertainty regarding whether Si application can improve cherry tomato yields and quality under N imbalance. In this study, we performed a pot experiment with cherry tomato plants, and used two N fertilizer inputs (high N level, 0.40 g N kg^− 1 soil; low N level, 0.20 g N kg^− 1 soil) with or without Si application, to investigate the influence of Si application on plant growth, photosynthesis, leaf N metabolic enzyme activities, and fruit quality in cherry tomatoes under N imbalance. This study aimed to assess the promotive effects of Si application on the growth and fruit quality of cherry tomatoes under nitrogen (N) imbalance. The results showed that Si application enhanced dry matter accumulation and photosynthesis, regardless of the N conditions. Compared with treatment without Si application, the total dry matter accumulation, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, and transpiration rate were enhanced by 2.59%, 3.76%, 23.9%, and 17.1% under low N conditions, and by 7.50%, 26.2%, 49.1%, and 26.3% under high N conditions, respectively. Furthermore, Si regulated the activities of leaf N metabolic enzymes, increasing the N content of the plant under low N conditions and decreasing it under high N conditions. Si application improved fruit quality, as the vitamin C content and firmness were increased by 13.2% and 3.57% under low N conditions and by 7.09% and 17.4% under high N conditions, respectively. This study provides evidence regarding Si application as a beneficial strategy for cherry tomato production, highlighting its potential role in optimizing plant responses to varying N levels.

To elucidate the mechanism of modified biochar in inhibiting soybean root rot and improving its quality. The effects of 0 t·ha⁻¹ (CK), 15 t·ha⁻¹ (15BC; 15KBC), 30 t·ha⁻¹ (30BC; 30KBC) and 45 t·ha⁻¹ (45BC; 45KBC) of raw biochar (BC) and modified biochar (KBC) on the incidence of root rot, rhizosphere soil ecological environment and quality were studied. The improvement of soybean root rot by BC was very weak, and the application of 45 t·ha⁻¹ BC could reduce soybean root rot by about 7% only. Compared with the BC treatment, the disease index of 30KBC and 45KBC was 22.17% and 19.82% less than CK, respectively. High application rates of BC and KBC increased the aeration, bacterial abundance and diversity of soybean rhizosphere soil, and improved the proportion of soil nutrients. The 30KBC and 45KBC significantly increased the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria (Acidobacteria, Mortierellomycota, Pseudomonas, Chryseolinea, Lysobacter and Mortierella) and decreased that of pathogenic bacteria (Bacteroidetes, Ascomycota and Fusarium) in soil. Soybean quality indicators including oil content, K, P and protein content correspond to 30KBC. The biochar can improve soil physicochemical properties, reduce the relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria, and increase that of beneficial bacteria, thereby reducing root rot incidence and improving soybean quality. Under the condition of water saving and nitrogen reduction, 30KBC is the optimum. This study is significant for alleviating soybean continuous cropping obstacles, disease prevention and control, and improving soybean quality.

In highly weathered soils, natural fertility is often compromised due to low phosphorus (P) availability. Additionally, there’s an increasing urgency to explore alternative P sources to enhance agricultural productivity and sustainability because P sources are finite. The objectives of this study were to compare the agronomic effectiveness of struvite (Est), organomineral (OM), and thermophosphate (ThermoP) with triple superphosphate (TSP) in increasing maize yields in sandy loam and clayey tropical soils. Investigate the effects of alternative phosphorus fertilizers on the phosphorus use efficiency of maize over two consecutive cropping cycles. Determine the feasibility of these alternative phosphorus sources as replacements for conventional TSP to promote sustainable nutrient management practices in agriculture. In a greenhouse, sandy loam and clayey soils were fertilized with four P sources: OM, Est, ThermoP, and TSP. Two successive maize crops were grown, with each treatment receiving a P rate of 100 mg kg^− 1. Soil and plant chemical analyses were carried out and then the following fertilizer efficiency indices were calculated: agronomic efficiency index (AEI), agronomic efficiency (AE), crop recovery efficiency (CE), phosphorus utilization efficiency (PUE), P recovery efficiency (PUpE), and physiological efficiency (PE). Est and OM had higher agronomic efficiencies than TSP in sandy soils. The alternative sources exhibited almost 2-fold more efficiency in the sandy loam compared to the clayey soil. The superior performance of Est was attributed to its slow nutrient release and physicochemical properties that potentially improve soil quality. Regarding PE, OM and TSP led the highest values in both cultivations in sandy loam soil. In the 1st crop cycle, the average PE of these two treatments was ∼ 215 g g^− 1 while in the 2nd the average was ∼ 181 g g^− 1. The Est fertilizer resulted in the highest values of CE, PUpE, and PUE. Multivariate analysis further supported these observations. Est and OM, can effectively replace conventional TSP in maize cultivation, resulting in better plant performance and nutrient utilization. Consequently, these alternative fertilizers offer the potential for sustainable nutrient management strategies.