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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Symbiotic Interactions
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1461945

Microalgae-based biofertilizers improve fertility and microbial community structures in the soil of potted tomato

Provisionally accepted
Xiaotong Song Xiaotong Song 1Jiayi Liu Jiayi Liu 1Yanzhang Feng Yanzhang Feng 1Chengxu Zhou Chengxu Zhou 1Xiaohui Li Xiaohui Li 1Xiaojun Yan Xiaojun Yan 1Roger Ruan Roger Ruan 1,2Pengfei Cheng Pengfei Cheng 1*
  • 1 Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
  • 2 University of Minnesota Twin Cities, St. Paul, Minnesota, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Continuous crop cropping would decrease soil nutrients and destroy microbial community structure, and the development of eco-friendly and effective biofertilizers is necessary at present conditions. In this study, the preserving microalgal strain Tribonema sp. (H) was firstly selected to be combined with agroforestry waste (shell powder, straw fermentation liquid) and agroforestry microorganism Bacillus sp. to form microalgae-based fertilizers in continuous cropping soil of potted tomato. Compared to the control (CK), microalgae-based fertilizers (concentration: 4.45 × 10 6 cells/ml, dosage: 20 ml/day) could improve soil nutrients and salinization indicators. Specifically, the combination of Tribonema sp. and shell powder (HB) could reduce electrical conductivity (EC) by 33.7% and significantly increase the Ca 2+ content by 59.4%; Tribonema sp. and Bacillus sp. (HY) could improve the effects of available phosphorous (AP), DOC, DON, NH4 + -N, NO3 --N, Mg 2+ in the soil by 27.4%, 231.3%, 403.4%, 125.2%, 215.6%, 73.4%, respectively. Microalgae-based fertilizers alter the abundance of soil bacteria and fungi, causing beneficial bacteria such as Thermonaerobaculia, Subgroup_10, Sordariomycetes, and Microascaceae to increase, while pathogenic bacteria like Pseudomonas, Togniniaceae, and Phaeoacremonium decreased. Combining microalgae with agroforestry wastes as the biofertilizer is promising to improve the microbial community structure of the soil with continuous cropping, which will aid in the increasement of tomato production and promote green agricultural development.

    Keywords: Tribonema sp., Microalgae-based biofertilizers, Agroforestry waste, Soil physicochemical characteristics, Soil microbial functions

    Received: 24 Jul 2024; Accepted: 31 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Song, Liu, Feng, Zhou, Li, Yan, Ruan and Cheng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Pengfei Cheng, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.