Ecological characteristics of sugar beet plant and rhizosphere soil in response to high boron stress: A study of the remediation potential

Abstract

High boron (B) stress degrades the soil environment and reduces plant productivity. Sugar beet has a high B demand and potential for remediation of B-toxic soils. However, the mechanism regarding the response of sugar beet plants and rhizosphere soil microbiome to high B stress is not clear. In the potted soil experiment, we set different soil effective B environments (0.5, 5, 10, 30, 50, and 100 mg kg−1) to study the growth status of sugar beets under different B concentrations, as well as the characteristics of soil enzyme activity and microbial community changes. The results showed that sugar beet growth was optimal at 5 mg kg−1 of B. Exceeding this concentration the tolerance index decreased. The injury threshold EC20 was reached at an available B concentration of 35.8 mg kg−1. Under the treatment of 100 mg kg−1, the B accumulation of sugar beet reached 0.22 mg plant−1, and the tolerance index was still higher than 60%, which had not yet reached the lethal concentration of sugar beet. The abundance of Acidobacteriota, Chloroflexi and Patescibacteria increased, which was beneficial to the resistance of sugar beet to high B stress. In summary, under high B stress sugar beet had strong tolerance, enhanced capacity for B uptake and enrichment, and changes in soil microbial community structure. This study provides a theoretical basis for clarifying the mechanism of sugar beet resistance to high B stress and soil remediation.