Effects of different straw biochar combined with microbial inoculants on soil environment in pot experiment

Ginseng is an important cash crop. The long-term continuous cropping of ginseng causes the imbalance of soil environment and the exacerbation of soil-borne diseases, which affects the healthy development of ginseng industry. In this study, ginseng continuous cropping soil was treated with microbial inocula using broad-spectrum biocontrol microbial strain Frankia F1. Wheat straw, rice straw and corn straw were the best carrier materials for microbial inoculum. After treatment with microbial inoculum prepared with corn straw biochar, the soil pH value, organic matter, total nitrogen, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium were increased by 11.18%, 55.43%, 33.07%, 26.70%, 16.40%, and 9.10%, the activities of soil urease, catalase and sucrase increased by 52.73%, 16.80% and 43.80%, respectively. A Metagenomics showed that after the application of microbial inoculum prepared with corn straw biochar, soil microbial OTUs, Chao1 index, Shannon index, and Simpson index increased by 19.86%, 16.05%, 28.83%, and 3.16%, respectively. Three classes (Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and Sphingobacteria) were the dominant bacteria in ginseng soil, and their abundance increased by 7.87%, 9.81% and 1.24%, respectively, after treatment with microbial inoculum with corn straw biochar. Results indicated that the most effective treatment in ginseng soil would be the combined application of corn straw biochar and Frankia F1.

Automated summary

In this study, the treatment of ginseng continuous cropping soil with microbial inocula using broad-spectrum biocontrol microbial strain Frankia F1 showed significant improvement in soil environment indicators and microbial activity, demonstrating that the combined application of corn straw biochar and Frankia F1 is the most effective method for ginseng soil management.