Abstract
Legume catch crops can enhance soil fertility and promote the N and P supply of the subsequent main crop, especially with low mineral fertilizer use. However, the specific impact of catch crops on arbuscular mycorrhiza formation of the following main crop is unknown. Therefore, the impact of serradella (Ornithopus sativus) vs. bare fallow was tested on mycorrhiza formation, potential soil enzyme activities and plant-available P under subsequently grown barley (Hordeum vulgare) and different fertilization treatments (P-unfertilized—P0; triple superphosphate—TSP; compost—COM; combined—COM + TSP) in a long-term field experiment in northeastern Germany. Catch cropping significantly increased mycorrhiza formation of barley up to 14% compared to bare fallow. The impact of serradella on mycorrhiza formation exceeded that of the fertilization treatment. Serradella led to increased phosphodiesterase activities and decreased ß-glucosidase activities in soil. Plant availability of P was not significantly affected by serradella. These findings provide initial evidence that even serradella as a non-host crop of mycorrhizal fungi can promote the mycorrhiza formation of the subsequent crop and P mobilization in soil. We conclude that the prolonged vegetation cover of arable soils by the use of catch crops can promote P mobilization and transfer from P pools to the following main crops.
Highlights
Phosphorus (P) is an essential plant nutrient which is often the determining factor for proper yields in agriculture
The analyses revealed that pre-cropping of serradella can promote mycorrhiza formation of subsequent grown barley compared to previous bare fallow in all treatments of fertilization (Figure 4)
The mycorrhizal colonization of barley ranged from 34 to 49% of the fine root length. This is in the lower range of mycorrhizal colonization of barley observed in a study of Castillo et al in Andosols in southern Chile [39]
Summary
Phosphorus (P) is an essential plant nutrient which is often the determining factor for proper yields in agriculture. Despite the partly large total P pools in soil, only a small portion of it is plant-available, and low plant availability of P in soil can limit plant performance and growth [1]. High and sustainable crop production requires P supplements. Supplementary mineral P fertilizers are produced from mining deposits, which are finite and often contaminated with cadmium and uranium [2,3,4]. P fertilizer applications need to be reduced by an increased efficiency of the P use from the soil P pool. Plants and microorganisms jointly contribute to P mobilization from the less mobile P pools in soil.
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