Responses of Soil Abiotic Properties and Microbial Community Structure to 25-Year Cucumber Monoculture in Commercial Greenhouses

Yu-Han Gao, Xiao-Hong Lu, Rong-Jun Guo, Jian-Jun Hao, Zuo-Qing Miao, Li Yang and Shi-Dong Li
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Yu-Han Gao: Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Xiao-Hong Lu: Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Rong-Jun Guo: Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Jian-Jun Hao: School of Food and Agriculture, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
Zuo-Qing Miao: Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Li Yang: Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
Shi-Dong Li: Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: Cucumber monoculture could cause soil salinization and acidification, soilborne diseases, and eventually yield loss. However, after a 25-year monoculture in Wafangdian county, Liaoning province, China, cucumber yields have remained satisfactory. In the present study, we investigated how the soil abiotic and biotic properties, in addition to soil rhizosphere microbial community structure in the greenhouses, could still sustain plant growth after such long-term monoculture production. Soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, and available nitrogen were accumulated significantly after monoculture. Such increasing soil fertility was accompanied by increased soil microbial abundance, which reshaped soil microbial community structure. Both bacterial and fungal diversity, including observed and estimated richness, Heip evenness, and Shannon diversity, decreased significantly, while the monoculture period had a greater influence on fungal diversity than on bacterial diversity. Although the high accumulation of soil nutrients increased soil salinity and acidity, the abundance of potential plant pathogenic fungi did not show an obvious increase. These results indicated that maintaining soil abiotic and biotic properties using organic fertilizers and balanced chemical fertilizers, especially improving potassium fertilizer application, could be useful measurements for the sustainable development of greenhouse vegetable production. In addition, appropriate management strategies should be considered to reduce the potential risk of soil salinization.

Keywords: monoculture; rhizosphere microbial community; soil fertility; salinization; cucumber (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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