Rain-shelter cultivation influence rhizosphere bacterial community structure in pear and its relationship with fruit quality of pear and soil chemical properties

Abstract

The application of rain-shelter in pear cultivation has been proved on improving yield, the appearance and quality of fruits, and reducing pests and diseases. However, how rain shelters affect rhizosphere bacterial community structure remain unknown. Here we studied the differences of pear trees rhizosphere bacterial community between rain-shelter cultivation and open-field cultivation, and compared their correlation with fruit quality, soil chemical characteristics. Results showed that rain-shelters can significantly (p < 0.05) increase the sucrose content of pear fruits and decrease the content of acids. The levels of total N, total P, and total K content in open-field were significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that in rain-shelters. The abundance of Acidobacteria in rain-shelter was significantly higher, whereas the abundance of Proteobacteria was significantly lower in the open-field. The average Shannon values and the Chao1 of bacterial community in rain-shelter was significantly higher than that in the open-field. Our study found that rain-shelter cultivation was only correlated with soil available phosphorus and sucrose content of pear. Although the number and diversity of soil microorganisms increased in the rain-shelter, log-term rain-shelter is not conducive to the overall soil material cycle, and rain-shelter needs more sophisticated water and fertilizer management.