Abstract
Panax notoginseng is a highly regarded medicinal plant that has been cultivated for more than 400 years in Southwest China. The obstacles associated with the continuous cropping of P. notoginseng are the greatest issues for the development this plant. In the present study, the micro-ecologies of soils differing in the duration of P. notoginseng planting were compared, the results of which could provide important information to aid in solving the problems associated with the continuous cropping of P. notoginseng. Soils in which P. notoginseng had grown for 1, 3 or 5 years, as well as unplanted or fallow soil, which had a P. notoginseng planting interval of 1, 3, 6 or 9 years, were collected in Yunnan Province, China. The numbers and physiological groups of microorganisms, soil enzyme activities and nutrients present in the soil were analyzed to identify the effects of continuous cropping and determine the influence of crop rotation on the soil. After P. notoginseng was planted, the ecological structure of the soil and the balance of soil nutrients changed. These changes in the soil ecosystem prevented the soil from adapting to the continuous cropping of P. notoginseng, which eventually limited the growth of P. notoginseng and increased the incidence of diseases. After rotation of P. notoginseng, some soil indicators were restored, and some indicators with irregular changes may have been caused by crop rotation and field fertilization management practices. Thus, the selection of suitable crop rotations will facilitate the use of continuous cropping for P. notoginseng.
Highlights
IntroductionContinuous cropping, in which the same crop or related crops are continuously planted, decreases the yield and quality of crops[3,4]
We hypothesized that soil nutrients, soil microorganisms and soil enzymes would change in response to continuous cropping
The results showed that the total numbers of bacteria, actinomycetes and microorganisms differed significantly among different cultivation durations, while the numbers of fungi did not show significant differences (Table 1)
Summary
Continuous cropping, in which the same crop or related crops are continuously planted, decreases the yield and quality of crops[3,4] These obstacles associated with continuous cropping have become a major constraint in P. notoginseng cultivation as the land suitable for planting P. notoginseng is limited. Such obstacles have led to an increase in the costs of planting P. notoginseng and decreases in the yield and quality of P. notoginseng[5,6]. Previous studies have demonstrated that changes in soil microbiota are the major causes of the obstacles associated with the continuous cropping of P. notoginseng[4,5,6,7,16,17]. These changes revealed possible modifications to the soil cause by continuous cropping, providing detailed information on the continuous cropping method used to grow P. notoginseng
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