Abstract
The rapidly emerging fertilizer rapeseed used as green manure has wide applications for use. However, there have been few studies on its decomposition and effects on soil nutrients and microorganisms after its decay. In this study, 12 rapeseed lines to be screened were decomposed through a randomized block field design with two green-manure-specific varieties as the controls. The contents of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium from the plants, soil nutrients, and microbial changes after degradation were measured. There were substantial differences in the rates of decomposition and cumulative release of nutrients among the different lines after 30 days of rolling. The contents of phosphorus and potassium in the soil were 1.23–2.03 and 3.93–6.32 times those before decomposition, respectively. In addition, there was a significant difference in the relative content of soil microorganisms at the phylum level after the decomposition of different species of rapeseeds. Most of the top 20 bacterial groups significantly correlated with the characteristics of plant decomposition and soil nutrient content, including Proteobacteria, Actinomycetes, Armatimonadetes, Rokubacteria, and Planctomycetes. A principal component analysis showed that the soil microorganisms and nutrients are the leading factors that enable the evaluation of the decomposing characteristics of green manure rapeseed. Numbers 5 (purple leaf mustard) and 8 (Xiafang self-seeding) were more effective than two controls, which can be used as excellent types of germplasm to promote the breeding of green manure rapeseed.
Highlights
In parallel with the rapid development of modern industry, the unreasonable application of chemical fertilizer has caused a series of environmental and safety problems [1,2,3], which deters the realization of the target for sustainable development [3]
Planting green fertilizer can reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides [4], and the use of green manure can increase the contents of soil nutrients and improve the soil fertility and structure of soil microbial community among others [5,6]
Previous studies have shown that the C/N ratio of rapeseed is relatively moderate, which renders it more decomposed by soil microorganisms than milk vetch, and the nutrients are absorbed by the subsequent crops [11]
Summary
In parallel with the rapid development of modern industry, the unreasonable application of chemical fertilizer has caused a series of environmental and safety problems [1,2,3], which deters the realization of the target for sustainable development [3]. Planting green fertilizer can reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides [4], and the use of green manure can increase the contents of soil nutrients and improve the soil fertility and structure of soil microbial community among others [5,6]. In addition to improving the contents of soil nutrients and increasing the number of beneficial bacterial communities in the soil [8,9], it results in the accumulation of large amounts of dry matter, which is twice or more than that of milk vetch (Astragalus sinicus L.) [10]. Green manure rapeseed can be combined with various farming systems, such as the “rice–rice–rapeseed” [15] and “cotton–rapeseed” crop rotations in the Yangtze River Basin [16], with particular application value and broad development prospects
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