Submit to Plants Review for Plants Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Plant-Soil Interactions: From Soil Fertility to Crop Growth

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant–Soil Interactions".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 25118

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jacynthe Dessureault-Rompré

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Laval University | ULAVAL · Department of Soil and Agri-Food Engineering, Québec, QC, Canada
Interests: soil–plant interaction; nutrient cycling in agroecosystems; carbon sequestration and phytotechnology; soil conservation and soil restoration

Dr. Judith Nyiraneza

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Charlottetown Research and Development Center|Centre de Recherche et de Développement de Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island), Charlottetown, Canada
Interests: nitrogen cycling under low-residue cropping systems; enhancing phosphorus use efficiency in acidic soils; agricultural practices to enhance carbon sequestration and soil health; crop- and soil-based nitrogen and phosphorus availability indices

Dr. Tandra D. Fraser

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Charlottetown Research and Development Center|Centre de Recherche et de Développement de Charlottetown (Prince Edward Island)
Interests: soil–plant–microbe interactions; soil ecology; biological contributions to phosphorus and nitrogen cycling; nutrient cycling in agroecosystems

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Interest in plant–soil interactions has exploded over the past few years. Indeed, soil fertility and crop growth are intimately linked to rhizosphere health and functions. From rhizodeposition to water retention, nutrient availability, and absorption, loops and feedback between the soil and the plant are drivers of ecosystems health.

Both plant and soil scientist interest in soil fertility and crop growth have strongly fostered research discoveries. Undeniably, the opening of the borders between these two disciplines, which have long been compartmentalized, has led to outstanding achievements in this research field. In the upcoming Special Issue of Plants on “Plant–Soil interaction: From Soil Fertility to Crop Growth”, we welcome scientific works (original research papers, field trials and case studies, methods, modeling approaches, and reviews) from a broad scope of disciplines ranging from plant physiology to soil nutrient cycling, soil microbiology, and biochemistry and soil physics to highlight recent advances on plant–soil interactions in relation to soil fertility and crop growth. Interdisciplinary works are highly welcomed. We aim to highlight original research approaches and to contribute to the successful expansion of knowledge on the inherent soil functions that are linked to crop growth.

Dr. Jacynthe Dessureault-Rompré
Dr. Judith Nyiraneza
Dr. Tandra D. Fraser
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

soil fertility and crop growth
soil–plant interaction
soil–plant–microbe interactions
rhizosphere
nutrient cycling in agroecosystem
nutrient availability

Published Papers (8 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 4747 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Damage Caused by Decline Disease in Bayberry Plants through Changes in Soil Properties, Rhizosphere Microbial Community Structure and Metabolites

by Haiying Ren, Hongyan Wang, Xingjiang Qi, Zheping Yu, Xiliang Zheng, Shuwen Zhang, Zhenshuo Wang, Muchen Zhang, Temoor Ahmed and Bin Li

Plants 2021, 10(10), 2083; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10102083 - 30 Sep 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3941

Abstract

Decline disease causes serious damage and rapid death in bayberry, an important fruit tree in south China, but the cause of this disease remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate soil quality, microbial community structure and metabolites of rhizosphere soil samples from healthy and diseased trees. The results revealed a significant difference between healthy and diseased bayberry in soil properties, microbial community structure and metabolites. Indeed, the decline disease caused a 78.24% and 78.98% increase in Rhizomicrobium and Cladophialophora, but a 28.60%, 57.18%, 38.84% and 68.25% reduction in Acidothermus, Mortierella, Trichoderma and Geminibasidium, respectively, compared with healthy trees, based on 16S and ITS amplicon sequencing of soil microflora. Furthermore, redundancy discriminant analysis of microbial communities and soil properties indicated that the main variables of bacterial and fungal communities included pH, organic matter, magnesium, available phosphorus, nitrogen and calcium, which exhibited a greater influence in bacterial communities than in fungal communities. In addition, there was a high correlation between the changes in microbial community structure and secondary metabolites. Indeed, GC–MS metabolomics analysis showed that the healthy and diseased samples differed over six metabolic pathways, including thiamine metabolism, phenylalanine–tyrosine–tryptophan biosynthesis, valine–leucine–isoleucine biosynthesis, phenylalanine metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis and fatty acid metabolism, where the diseased samples showed a 234.67% and 1007.80% increase in palatinitol and cytidine, respectively, and a 17.37–8.74% reduction in the other 40 metabolites compared to the healthy samples. Overall, these results revealed significant changes caused by decline disease in the chemical properties, microbiota and secondary metabolites of the rhizosphere soils, which provide new insights for understanding the cause of this bayberry disease. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Soil Interactions: From Soil Fertility to Crop Growth)

► Show Figures

Graphical abstract

18 pages, 4453 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Soil Bacteria to Regulate Phoebe bournei Seedling Growth and Sustainable Soil Utilization under NPK Fertilization

by Zhi-Jian Yang, Xiao-Hui Wu, Lan-Ming Huang, Wei-Wei Xie, Yu Chen, Yousry A. El-Kassaby and Jin-Ling Feng

Plants 2021, 10(9), 1868; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10091868 - 9 Sep 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2397

Abstract

Soil bacteria play a key role in the plant–soil system and can regulate the growth of Phoebe bournei seedlings under fertilization. However, there are few reports on how soil bacteria respond to fertilization and regulate seedling growth. This study adopted the “3414” field fertilization experiment, combined with soil microbial sequencing, nutrient contents, and biomass measurement, to explore the changes of soil chemical properties and bacterial structure under different NPK fertilization conditions and to establish the coupling relationship between soil bacteria, soil nutrients, and plant growth. The results showed that NPK fertilization decreased soil pH; increased soil N, P, and K content; reduced bacterial diversity and abundance; promoted the growth of dominant bacterial species; and enhanced Phoebe bournei seedlings’ soil N, P, and K elements. NPK fertilization promoted Proteobacteria growth, especially of three genera (Methylobacterium, Sphingobium, and Acinetobacter) and Actinobacteria, while it decreased Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi. By reducing the ratio of N to K and increasing P, NPK fertilization can slow soil acidification, promote bacterial reproduction, maintain P. bournei seedlings’ soil ecological stability, and balance the seedlings’ growth and sustainable soil utilization. AD3, Pseudomonas, and Rhodanobacter can be used as the marker species for N, P, and K fertilization, respectively, while Methylobacterium, Brevundimonas, Acinetobacter, and Sphingobium can be used as indicator species for soil pH and soil N, P, and K content changes, respectively. These results provided a theoretical basis and technical guidance for the effective fertilization and cultivation of robust P. bournei seedlings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Soil Interactions: From Soil Fertility to Crop Growth)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 1319 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Improving Soil Quality and Potato Productivity with Manure and High-Residue Cover Crops in Eastern Canada

by Judith Nyiraneza, Dahu Chen, Tandra Fraser and Louis-Pierre Comeau

Plants 2021, 10(7), 1436; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10071436 - 14 Jul 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3231

Abstract

Under intensive low residue agricultural systems, such as those involving potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)-based systems, stagnant crop yields and declining soil health and environmental quality are common issues. This study evaluated the effects of pen-pack cow (Bos Taurus) manure application (20 Mg·ha⁻¹) and cover crops on nitrate dynamics and soil N supply capacity, subsequent potato yield, selected soil properties, and soil-borne disease. Eight cover crops were tested and included grasses, legumes, or a mixture of legumes and grasses, with red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) used as a control. Forage pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) was associated with highest dry matter. On average, red clover had 88% higher total N accumulation than the treatments mixing grasses and legumes, and the former was associated with higher soil nitrate in fall before residue incorporation and overwinter, but this was not translated into increased potato yields. Pearl millet and sorghum sudangrass (Sorghum bicolor × sorghum bicolor var. Sudanese) were associated with lower soil nitrate in comparison to red clover while being associated with higher total potato yield and lower numerical value of root-lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus penetrans), although this was not statistically significant at 5% probability level. Manure incorporation increased total and marketable yield by 28% and 26%, respectively, and increased soil N supply capacity by an average of 44%. Carbon dioxide released after a short incubation as a proxy of soil microbial respiration increased by an average of 27% with manure application. Our study quantified the positive effect of manure application and high-residue cover crops on soil quality and potato yield for the province of Prince Edward Island. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Soil Interactions: From Soil Fertility to Crop Growth)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 6414 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Foliar and Ground-Applied Essential Nutrients on Huanglongbing-Affected Mature Citrus Trees

by Alisheikh A. Atta, Kelly T. Morgan, Davie M. Kadyampakeni and Kamal A. Mahmoud

Plants 2021, 10(5), 925; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10050925 - 6 May 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3065

Abstract

The fate of foliar and ground-applied essential nutrients is the least studied topic under citrus greening or Huanglongbing (HLB)-affected citrus, which is inherently suffering from severe root decline because of HLB-associated problems. The objective of this study was to evaluate if ground-applied coupled with foliar spray of essential nutrients can reverse the decline in tree growth and understand the fate of the nutrients in the soil-root-tree interfaces. The treatments were arranged in a split-split plot design in which nitrogen (N) was ground-applied in 20 splits biweekly and Mn, Zn, and B were foliar and /or ground-applied in three splits following the spring, summer, and late summer flush seasons. Soil nutrients in three depths (0–15, 15–30, and 30–45 cm), root, and leaf nutrient concentrations of the essential nutrients, leaf area index (LAI), and tree canopy volume (TCV) data were studied twice (spring and summer) for two years. A significantly higher soil NH₄-N and NO₃-N concentrations were detected in the topsoil depth than the two lower soil depths (15–30 and 30–45 cm) indicating lesser nutrient leaching as trees received moderate (224 kg ha⁻¹) N rate. Except for soil zinc (Zn) concentration, all the nutrient concentrations were significantly higher in the topsoil (0–15 cm), compared with two lower soil depths indicating that Zn was intricate by changes in soil environmental conditions, root acquisition, and/or leaching to lower soil depth. Leaf N concentration significantly increased over time following seasonal environmental fluctuations, tree growth, and development. Thus, leaf N concentration remained above the optimum nutrient range implying lower N requirement under irrigation scheduling with SmartIrrigation, an App used to determine the daily irrigation duration to meet tree water requirement and split fertigation techniques. Root Manganese (Mn) and Zn concentrations were significantly higher in the root tissues of the treated than the control trees and translocated to the leaves accordingly. Meanwhile, a significantly higher LAI for trees budded on Swingle (Swc) rootstock however, larger TCV for trees budded on Volkameriana (Volk) rootstocks. The trees had significantly larger TCV when the trees received a moderate N rate during early study years and under foliar 9 kg ha⁻¹ coupled with the ground 9 kg ha⁻¹ Mn and Zn treatments during the late study years. Therefore, split ground application of 224 kg ha⁻¹ of N, foliar applied 9 kg ha⁻¹ coupled with ground-applied 9 kg ha⁻¹ Mn and Zn were the suggested rates to sustain the essential leaf nutrient concentration within the optimum ranges and improve the deterioration of vegetative growth associated with HLB-induced problems of citrus trees. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Soil Interactions: From Soil Fertility to Crop Growth)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 1288 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Granular Activated Carbon and Biochar on the Availability of Cu and Zn to Hordeum sativum Distichum in Contaminated Soil

by Marina Burachevskaya, Saglara Mandzhieva, Tatiana Bauer, Tatiana Minkina, Vishnu Rajput, Victor Chaplygin, Aleksey Fedorenko, Natalia Chernikova, Inna Zamulina, Sergey Kolesnikov, Svetlana Sushkova and Leonid Perelomov

Plants 2021, 10(5), 841; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10050841 - 22 Apr 2021

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3060

Abstract

The presence of heavy metals in the soil could impose serious problems on soil-plant systems due to the accumulation of heavy metals in plants. Even vital elements such as Cu and Zn have a toxic effect in the case of excessive intake by living organisms. The present work aimed to investigate the content of loosely bound (exchangeable, complexed, and specifically sorbed) compounds of Cu and Zn and their availability to spring barley (Hordeum sativum distichum) in contaminated Haplic Chernozem soil under the conditions of a model experiment (five approximate permissible concentrations (APC) and 10 APC of metal). Changes in the bioavailability of the metals upon application of carbon sorbents were observed. An increase in loosely bound metal compounds has been shown under conditions of soil contamination with metals (up to 57% of the total content). The increase in the availability of Cu in the soil was mainly due to the formation of complexed metal forms with organic matter (up to 17%). The availability of Zn was found to be associated with an increase in exchangeable (up to 21%) and specifically sorbed compounds (up to 27%). Granular activated carbon (GAC) and biochar have high sorption properties. A decrease in the content of loosely bound compounds of metals was established, especially in the most mobile forms such as exchangeable and complexed forms. The introduction of sorbents into the soil opened up a new venue for binding heavy metals in situ, eventually leading to a decrease in their bioavailability. The inactivation of Cu and Zn in the soil upon the application of sorbents led to a decrease in metal absorption by spring barley. The highest efficiency of biochar application was established at a dose of 2.5% and 5% in soil contaminations of 5 APC and 10 APC of Cu or Zn. The efficiency of the use of sorbents was more influenced by the dose of application than by the type of sorbent. There was no significant difference between biochar and GAC. Stabilization and inactivation of metals may improve soil fertility and plant growth. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Soil Interactions: From Soil Fertility to Crop Growth)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 1318 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Multivariate Interaction Analysis of Winter Wheat Grown in Environment of Limited Soil Conditions

by Nataša Ljubičić, Vera Popović, Vladimir Ćirić, Marko Kostić, Bojana Ivošević, Dragana Popović, Miloš Pandžić, Seddiq El Musafah and Snežana Janković

Plants 2021, 10(3), 604; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10030604 - 23 Mar 2021

Cited by 29 | Viewed by 2767

Abstract

The less productive soils present one of the major problems in wheat production. Because of unfavorable conditions, halomorphic soils could be intensively utilized using ameliorative measures and by selecting suitable stress tolerant wheat genotypes. This study examined the responses of ten winter wheat cultivars on stressful conditions of halomorphic soil, solonetz type in Banat, Serbia. The wheat genotypes were grown in field trails of control and treatments with two soil amelioration levels using phosphor gypsum, in amounts of 25 and 50 tha⁻¹. Across two vegetation seasons, phenotypic variability and genotype by environment interaction (GEI) for yield traits of wheat were studied. The additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) models were used to study the GEI. AMMI analyses revealed significant genotype and environmental effects, as well as GEI effect. Analysis of GEI using the IPCA (Interaction Principal Components) analysis showed a statistical significance of the first two main components, IPCA1 and IPCA2 for yield, which jointly explained 70% of GEI variation. First source of variation IPCA1 explained 41.15% of the GEI for the grain weight per plant and 78.54% for the harvest index. The results revealed that wheat genotypes responded differently to stressful conditions and ameliorative measures. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Soil Interactions: From Soil Fertility to Crop Growth)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 1978 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nutrients Leaching in Response to Long-Term Fertigation and Broadcast Nitrogen in Blueberry Production

by Aimé J. Messiga, Kathryn Dyck, Kiera Ronda, Kolden van Baar, Dennis Haak, Shaobing Yu and Martine Dorais

Plants 2020, 9(11), 1530; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants9111530 - 10 Nov 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2911

Abstract

Nutrient leaching losses from horticultural production threaten the quality of groundwater and freshwater systems worldwide. The objectives of this study were to (a) assess the effects of annual applications of ammonium sulfate fertilizer through fertigation (FERT) and broadcast (BROAD) on nutrient leaching losses and (b) determine the links among chemical property changes in leachates and soil with berry yields after 9 and 11 years of blueberry production. The long-term blueberry site was established in 2008 using seven combinations of treatments including an unfertilized control (CONT) and three N fertilizer rates (100%, 150%, 200% of recommended rates) using BROAD and FERT methods. Nutrients concentrations (NO₃⁻-N, NH₄⁺-N and SO₄²⁻-S) and chemical properties (pH and electrical conductivity (EC)) of leachate, sawdust and soil and berries were assessed. All FERT methods resulted in concentrations of NO₃⁻-N in the leachates > 100 mg L⁻¹ with a maximum of 200 mg L⁻¹ for FERT-200 during the growing season due to the easy transport of dissolved nutrients with the irrigation water. All BROAD methods resulted into concentrations of NO₃⁻-N in the leachates >10 mg L⁻¹ with a maximum of 35 mg L⁻¹ for BROAD-200 between April and July, as well as between November and April, indicating two periods of NO₃⁻-N leaching losses. The pattern observed with BROAD indicates that irrigation water in the summer and heavy rainfall in the winter contribute to NO₃⁻-N leaching losses. Concentrations of NH₄⁺-N in the leachates >1 mg L⁻¹ were measured under FERT with a peak at 64.78 mg L⁻¹ for FERT-200, during the period April to August, due to NH₄⁺’s ability to quickly move through the sawdust layer with irrigation water. Principal component analysis linked berry yield decrease with ammonium sulfate applications above recommended rates (FERT and BROAD) and with changes in soil pH and EC. Our results demonstrated that excess fertilizer applications above recommended rates using FERT and BROAD can threaten the sustainability of blueberry production by enhancing nutrient leaching losses and reducing berry yield. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Soil Interactions: From Soil Fertility to Crop Growth)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

9 pages, 472 KiB

Open AccessReview

Root-Derived Proteases as a Plant Tool to Access Soil Organic Nitrogen; Current Stage of Knowledge and Controversies

by Bartosz Adamczyk

Plants 2021, 10(4), 731; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10040731 - 8 Apr 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2080

Abstract

Anthropogenic deterioration of the global nitrogen (N) cycle emerges mainly from overuse of inorganic N fertilizers in nutrient-limited cropping systems. To counteract a further dysregulation of the N cycle, we need to improve plant nitrogen use efficiency. This aim may be reached via unravelling all plant mechanisms to access soil N, with special attention to the dominating high-molecular-mass N pool. Traditionally, we believe that inorganic N is the only plant-available N pool, however, more recent studies point to acquisition of organic N compounds, i.e., amino acids, short peptides, and proteins. The least known mechanism of plants to increase the N uptake is a direct increase of soil proteolysis via root-derived proteases. This paper provides a review of the knowledge about root-derived proteases and also controversies behind this phenomenon. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant-Soil Interactions: From Soil Fertility to Crop Growth)

► Show Figures