Abstract
Continuous cropping is a universal challenge in agriculture because it has adverse physiological effects on plants, resulting in stunting, inferior quality, and even massive loss in harvest due to diseases. In this study, Phanerochaete chrysosporium was inoculated into the field in which cut chrysanthemum had already been continuously cropped for five years to control wilt disease. After 120 days of cultivation, the addition of P. chrysosporium significantly improved the physiological status of plants and changed the bacterial and fungal community structure in the soil. The bacterial quantity in the treatment increased by 1.76 times, but the fungal quantity, especially the quantity of Fusarium oxysporum, decreased significantly in comparison with the control. The investigation into the mechanisms of control of Fusarium wilt of cut chrysanthemum by P. chrysosporium showed that P. chrysosporium in soil can inhibit the growth of F. oxysporum and decrease p-hydroxybenzoic acid (HA), which stimulates the propagation of F. oxysporum. Based on current evidence, the inhibition by P. chrysosporium and change in HA appear to be the main causes of the alleviation of wilt disease in the treatment. Other factors, such as nutrients, might also have an influence on the wilt disease of cut chrysanthemum.
Highlights
Cut chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium), which is native to Asia and Northeastern Europe, is the oldest ornamental plant and a commercially important herb; it has gained tremendous popularity around the world due to its wide range of biodiversity[1]
The main pathogen appearing in continuous cropping systems is Fusarium oxysporum: the wilt disease caused by this pathogen can irreversibly damage the growth of cut chrysanthemum
Microorganisms play a vital role in soil ecosystems, and they can serve as natural antagonists of plant pathogens[12,13]; bacteria, such as Bacillus subtilis, and endophytic fungi, such as Phomopsis liquidambari, have been used to control Fusarium wilt[14,15,16]
Summary
Another experiment was carried out in 2014, and the results revealed the repeatability of the control of Fusarium wilt by P. chrysosporium Compared with those in the first season, the incidence and disease index in the treatment were relatively lower (Fig. 2). Before day 30, the treatment had a lower Shannon index than the control, indicating that P. chrysosporium first reduced the bacterial community diversity. The OTUs in the soil samples were divided into 536 genera, and the top 100 genera that occupied 96.33–99.29% of the total RA presented an ecological succession of the bacterial communities during the 120-day cultivation (Fig. 3). The PCA score plot (Fig. 4) revealed that the structures of soil bacterial communities between the control (C15-C60) and the treatment (T15-T60) were clearly different. After day 60, their structures in two groups (C90 and T90; C129 and T120) were almost similar to those in the initial soil before cultivation (C0)
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