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Agronomy
Volume 16
Issue 2
10.3390/agronomy16020172
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Effects of Microbial Coating Agents on Alfalfa Production Performance, Nutritional Quality, Soil Particle Size and Soil Enzyme Activity

by
Linghe Ji
,
Tuo Yao
*,
Aolei He
,
Bingpeng Shen
,
Ming Wang
and
Xuan Hou
Key Laboratory of Grassland Ecosystem of Ministry of Education, College of Pratacultural Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Agronomy 2026, 16(2), 172; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16020172
Submission received: 24 November 2025 / Revised: 22 December 2025 / Accepted: 6 January 2026 / Published: 9 January 2026
(This article belongs to the Section Agricultural Biosystem and Biological Engineering)
Versions Notes

Abstract

To screen efficient microbial coating formulations and explore their effects on the growth of alfalfa and soil properties, ‘Gannong No. 3’ alfalfa was used as the experimental material. A single-factor randomized block field experiment was conducted with eight treatments (CK as bare seeds, BC as adhesive filler coated agent, J1-J3 as rhizobium agent, growth-promoting bacteria agent, and rhizobium plus growth-promoting bacteria seed soaking, respectively, B1-B3 as rhizobium, growth-promoting bacteria, and rhizobium plus growth-promoting bacteria coating agents, respectively). This study analyzes the effects of different microbial coating formulations on alfalfa, including its production performance and nutritional quality, as well as on soil properties. Comprehensive analysis shows that the growth-promoting microbial coating (B2) is the optimal formulation. It can simultaneously optimize alfalfa production performance, enhance nutritional quality, improve soil particle composition, and increase soil enzyme activity, achieving a synergistic improvement of both alfalfa and the soil ecosystem. Its application effect is significantly better than other treatments and can provide important theoretical support and practical reference for the development and application of efficient microbial seed coatings in high-quality alfalfa cultivation.
Keywords: PGPR; seed coating; alfalfa; production performance; nutritional quality; soil particle size; soil enzyme activity PGPR; seed coating; alfalfa; production performance; nutritional quality; soil particle size; soil enzyme activity

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MDPI and ACS Style

Ji, L.; Yao, T.; He, A.; Shen, B.; Wang, M.; Hou, X. Effects of Microbial Coating Agents on Alfalfa Production Performance, Nutritional Quality, Soil Particle Size and Soil Enzyme Activity. Agronomy 2026, 16, 172. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16020172

AMA Style

Ji L, Yao T, He A, Shen B, Wang M, Hou X. Effects of Microbial Coating Agents on Alfalfa Production Performance, Nutritional Quality, Soil Particle Size and Soil Enzyme Activity. Agronomy. 2026; 16(2):172. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16020172

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ji, Linghe, Tuo Yao, Aolei He, Bingpeng Shen, Ming Wang, and Xuan Hou. 2026. "Effects of Microbial Coating Agents on Alfalfa Production Performance, Nutritional Quality, Soil Particle Size and Soil Enzyme Activity" Agronomy 16, no. 2: 172. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16020172

APA Style

Ji, L., Yao, T., He, A., Shen, B., Wang, M., & Hou, X. (2026). Effects of Microbial Coating Agents on Alfalfa Production Performance, Nutritional Quality, Soil Particle Size and Soil Enzyme Activity. Agronomy, 16(2), 172. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16020172

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