Organic fertilizers activate soil enzyme activities and promote the recovery of soil beneficial microorganisms after dazomet fumigation

Abstract

Soil fumigation can reduce the impact of soil-borne diseases, weeds and insect pests on commercial crop production. Unfortunately, fumigation also kills beneficial microorganisms. In this study, we explored if dazomet fumigation could be used in combination with organic fertilizers (silicon fertilizer, potassium humate organic fertilizer, Bacillus microbial fertilizer, and mixtures of the last two) to reduce its impact on soil beneficial microorganisms. We evaluated the effects of adding these fertilizers after fumigation on the soil's physical and chemical properties and its enzyme activities, as well as its effects on the soil microbial communities under continuous production for >20 years. We found that fertilizers applied after fumigation increased the soil nitrate nitrogen content by 11.6%–29.4%, increased available potassium content by 5.6%–26.3% and increased organic matter content by 28.5%–48.8%. In addition, soil conductivity and water content increased significantly by 8.2%–26.5% and 8.0%–16.0%, respectively. The activities of soil catalase and soil sucrase were significantly increased by 6.2%–15.9% and 133.1%–238.5%, respectively. High-throughput DNA sequencing showed that fertilizers applied after fumigation increased the relative abundance of the phyla Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Ascomycota; and the genera Sphingomonas, Chaetomium and Mortierella. Silicon fertilizer applied after fumigation has the most significant promotion effect on soil micro-ecological health. The results showed that organic fertilizers applied after fumigation can improve the soil's fertility, activate soil enzyme activities and promote the recovery of soil beneficial microorganisms, which are all factors that improve crop quality and yield.