Premium
Trichoderma asperellum alters fungal community composition in saline–alkaline soil maize rhizospheres
Author(s) -
Fu Jian,
Xiao Yao,
Wang YuFeng,
Liu ZhiHua,
Zhang YiFei,
Yang KeJun
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.1002/saj2.20245
Subject(s) - alkali soil , trichoderma , fusarium , agronomy , crop , rhizosphere , soil salinity , chemistry , soil water , conidium , horticulture , saline , crop yield , biology , bacteria , ecology , genetics , endocrinology
The Songnen Plain is an important agricultural region in China with an abundance of saline–alkaline soil that significantly restricts maize growth. Trichoderma spp., free‐living fungi, are commonly used biofertilizers. The effects of Trichoderma asperellum on the fungal community in saline–alkaline soils remain unclear; hence, in this study, three T. asperellum conidium suspension concentrations were used: 0 g (control), 0.7 g (low dose), and 1.4 g (high dose) over three consecutive years, following which high‐throughput sequencing was conducted to analyze the effect of T. asperellum on fungal diversity in the rhizosphere soil. Changes in crop yield, soil salt ion content, and pH were also monitored. T. asperellum treatment effectively regulated the soil salt ion balance, lowered the pH, and improved the crop yield by 4.88–20.26%. Additionally, the T. asperellum treatment significantly increased the relative abundance of T. asperellum and Ceratobasidium sp and inhibited that of the pathogenic fungi Neonectria and Fusarium . Changes in the soil fungal community composition were closely associated with soil properties and yield. Our findings suggest that long‐term T. asperellum exposure can alleviate saline–alkaline stress for maize growth by decreasing soil pH and salt ion content and regulating the fungal microbial community, thereby increasing crop yield.