Abstract
Pyroligneous acid (PA) is often used in agriculture as a plant growth and yield enhancer. However, the influence of PA application on soil microorganisms is not often studied. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effect of PA (0.01–5% w/w in soil) on the microbial diversity in two different soils. At the end of eight weeks of incubation, soil microbial community dynamics were determined by Illumina-MiSeq sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons. The microbial composition differed between the lower (0.01% and 0.1%) and the higher (1% and 5%) concentration in both PA spiked soils. The lower concentration of PA resulted in higher microbial diversity and dehydrogenase activity (DHA) compared to the un-spiked control and the soil spiked with high PA concentrations. Interestingly, PA-induced plant growth-promoting bacterial (PGPB) genera include Bradyrhizobium, Azospirillum, Pseudomonas, Mesorhizobium, Rhizobium, Herbaspiriluum, Acetobacter, Beijerinckia, and Nitrosomonas at lower concentrations. Additionally, the PICRUSt functional analysis revealed the predominance of metabolism as the functional module’s primary component in both soils spiked with 0.01% and 0.1% PA. Overall, the results elucidated that PA application in soil at lower concentrations promoted soil DHA and microbial enrichment, particularly the PGPB genera, and thus have great implications for improving soil health.
Highlights
Pyroligneous acid (PA) or wood vinegar is an acidic reddish-brown aqueous liquid obtained from the pyrolysis of wood and other lignocellulosic raw material [1]
A significant increase in the dehydrogenase activity (18.7%) over the control was measured in soil A spiked with 0.01% PA
We examined the effect of PA on the selected plant growth-promoting rhizobacterial genera that are reported as beneficial plant bacterial genera in Australia [25]
Summary
Pyroligneous acid (PA) or wood vinegar is an acidic reddish-brown aqueous liquid obtained from the pyrolysis of wood and other lignocellulosic raw material [1]. The carbonization of the wood and wood products results in charcoal, non-condensable gases (NCG), tar, and PA. The raw materials for making the PA are abundant, such as wood, wood residues, and other biomaterials such as corn cobs, pine cones, fruit shells, and even weeds [2]. The chemical constituents and PA yield from the pyrolysis process vary depending on the source and the pyrolysis conditions. PA consists of different chemical compounds, primarily acetic acid, phenols, methanol, and formaldehyde [3]. PA has a high degree of antifungal, termiticidal, and antimicrobial activities [4,5,6]
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