Multi-factor correlation analysis of the effect of root-promoting practices on tobacco rhizosphere microecology in growth stages

Abstract

Some agronomic practices not only promote the development of crop roots and increase overall plant performance but also affect colonisation by rhizosphere microorganisms. However, the composition and temporal dynamics of the tobacco rhizosphere microbiota under different root-promoting practices are poorly understood. Here, we characterised the tobacco rhizosphere microbiota at the knee-high, vigorous growing, and maturity stages under the application of potassium fulvic acid (PFA), γ-Polyglutamic acid (PGA), soymilk root irrigation (SRI), and conventional fertilization (CK) and its correlation with root characteristics and soil nutrients. The results showed that three root-promoting practices notably improved the dry and fresh root weights. Total nitrogen and phosphorus, available phosphorus and potassium, and organic matter contents in the rhizosphere markedly increased at the vigorous growing stage. The rhizosphere microbiota was changed through root-promoting practices. However, with tobacco growth, the change of rhizosphere microbiota showed a pattern of slow first and then fast and the microbiota of different treatments gradually approached. SRI reduced plant-pathogenic fungi but increased chemoheterotrophic and phototrophic bacteria, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. PFA and PGA markedly increased arbuscular mycorrhizal and ectomycorrhizal fungi at the knee-high stage, which benefitted tobacco nutrient absorption. The correlation between rhizosphere microorganisms and environmental factors varied at different growth stages. Notably, the rhizosphere microbiota was more sensitive to environmental factors at the vigorous growing stage, and the interactions were more complex than in other stages. Furthermore, a variance partitioning analysis showed that the influence of root–soil interaction on the rhizosphere microbiota increased with tobacco growth. Overall, all three root-promoting practices could improve root characteristics, rhizosphere nutrient, and rhizosphere microbiota to varying degrees and increase the tobacco biomass, among which PGA had the most obvious effect and most suitable for tobacco cultivation. Our findings revealed the role of root-promoting practices in shaping the rhizosphere microbiota during plant growth and elucidated the assembly patterns and environmental drivers of crop rhizosphere microbiota driven by the application of root-promoting practices in agricultural production.