Impact of Nitrogen Fertilizer on the Mycorrhizal Inoculating Potential and Fungal Community Structure in Rhizosphere of Medicinal Plant Curcuma longa L.

Abstract

Reducing chemical fertilizer while remaining high crop yield has become a trend of agricultural practice. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of nitrogen (N) input on the structure of the fungal community and mycorrhizal inoculum potential in rhizosphere of Curcuma longa, aiming to minimize the use of chemicals and optimize the effect of biofertilizer for sustainable turmeric farming. For this, a field study was conducted in two successive years 2015 and 2016 with applications of varrying N fertilizer rates N0 (0 kgN ha−1 y−1), N150 (150 kgN ha−1 y−1), N350 (350 kgN ha−1 y−1), and N500 (500 kgN ha−1 y−1) in combination with mycorrhizal biofertilizer on turmeric plants in Hung-Yen. Rhizosphere soils were then analyzed for the abundance of predominant fungal taxon based on amplicon sequencing of rDNA internal transcribed spacer regions. Metagenomic results indicated significant effects of N inputs on rhizosphere fungal communities composition, with dominance of ascomyceteous fungi under optimized N levels, whereas basidiomycetous fungi were more abundant under higher N input. Operational taxonomic units relating to the predominantly abundant genus Glomus were found apparently in higher proportion under optimized N inputs (N150). The results demonstrate an enhanced productivity and icreased mycorrhizal inoculating potential by appropriated N fertilizer application in turmeric rhizosphere.