Effect of plastic mulching on mycotoxin occurrence and mycobiome abundance in soil samples from asparagus crops

Plastic mulching (PM) is widely used in modern agriculture because of its advantageous effects on soil temperature and water conservation, factors which strongly influence the microbiology of the soil. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of PM on mycotoxin occurrence in relation with mycobiome abundance/diversity and soil physicochemical properties. Soil samples were collected from green (GA) and white asparagus (WA) crops, the last under PM. Both crops were cultivated in a ridge-furrow-ridge system without irrigation. Samples were analyzed for mycotoxin occurrence via liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). Total colony-forming unit was indicative of mycobiome abundance, and analysis of mycobiome diversity was performed by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing. PM avoided the drop of soil temperature in winter and allowed higher soil temperature in early spring compared to non-covered soil. Moreover, the use of PM provided controlled conditions for water content in soil. This was enough to generate a dissimilar mycotoxin occurrence and mycobiome diversity/abundance in covered and non-covered soil. Mycotoxin soil contamination was confirmed for deoxynivalenol (DON), range LOD to 32.1 ng/g (LOD = 1.1 ng/g). The DON values were higher under PM (average 16.9 ± 10.1 ng/g) than in non-covered soil (9.1 ± 7.9 ng/g); however, this difference was not statically significant (p = 0.09). Mycobiome analysis showed a fungal compartment up to fivefold higher in soil under PM compared to GA. The diversity of the mycobiome varied between crops and also along the soil column, with an important dominance of Fusarium species at the root zone in covered soils.