Peanut-based Rotation Stabilized Diazotrophic Communities and Increased Subsequent Wheat Yield.

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Soil Microbiology
• Agronomy

Background:

• Legume inclusion in crop rotations can enhance nitrogen use efficiency and crop yields.
• The specific microbial mechanisms driving these benefits, particularly concerning nitrogen metabolism, are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the temporal effects of peanut introduction on nitrogen-metabolizing microorganisms within crop rotation systems.
• To elucidate the relationship between soil microbial communities, soil properties, and subsequent wheat yield.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of diazotrophic communities and wheat yields in two rotation systems: winter wheat-summer maize (WM) and peanut-winter wheat-summer maize (PWM).
• Assessment of microbial community structure and diversity (Chao1, Shannon indexes, PCoA) across different sampling times (June and September).
• Correlation analysis between soil properties (pH, SOC, TN) and microbial communities, followed by Partial Least Squares Path Modeling (PLS-PM) to determine yield impacts.

Main Results:

• Peanut introduction significantly increased wheat yield (11.6%) and biomass (8.9%).
• Rotation systems altered diazotrophic community structures, with specific genera like Azotobacter and Azospirillum enriched in the PWM system.
• Diazotrophic community diversity and soil properties (pH, SOC, TN) were identified as significant drivers of wheat yield.

Conclusions:

• Legume inclusion, specifically peanuts, can stabilize diazotrophic community structure over time.
• This stabilization of microbial communities contributes to increased subsequent crop yields in rotation systems.