Potted rice straw increased the antioxidase activity and growth of Chinese green cabbage seedlings and altered the soil microbial community

Abstract

ABSTRACTTo reuse rice straw and decrease the environmental pollution and resource waste that are caused by burning rice straw in China, this agricultural resource is increasingly being used to make pots with added formaldehyde and other chemicals for cultivating vegetables. A study was conducted to investigate the effects of rice straw-based pot powder on the growth and antioxidase activity of Chinese green cabbage seedlings and the soil microbial community using a molecular analysis. The results showed that there was no negative effect from the powder on cabbage growth, given that the cabbage plants that were treated with powder (1.2–3.2 g kg−1 rice straw pot powder) exhibited 1.8 to 2.5 times higher fresh biomass than the control (0 g kg−1 powder). Minor differences were found among key reactive oxygen system enzyme activities, but the superoxide dismutase activity decreased by 33–55% (1.2–3.2 g kg−1 powder). The phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity of green Chinese cabbage that was treated with powder (1.2–3.2 g kg−1 rice straw pot powder) was 1.5 times higher than the no-powder control. The soil microbial diversity was changed, and the community composition was altered depending on the rates of powder application, according to a polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis.