scholarly journals Root renovation: how an improved understanding of basic root biology could inform the development of elite crops that foster sustainable soil health

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna W.-H. Wong ◽  
Jonathan M. Plett
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Breeding Strategy ◽  
Microbial Interactions ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Microbial Association

A major goal in agricultural research is to develop ‘elite’ crops with stronger, resilient root systems. Within this context, breeding practices have focussed on developing plant varieties that are, primarily, able to withstand pathogen attack and, secondarily, able to maximise plant productivity. Although great strides towards breeding disease-tolerant or -resistant root stocks have been made, this has come at a cost. Emerging studies in certain crop species suggest that domestication of crops, together with soil management practices aimed at improving plant yield, may hinder beneficial soil microbial association or reduce microbial diversity in soil. To achieve more sustainable management of agricultural lands, we must not only shift our soil management practices but also our breeding strategy to include contributions from beneficial microbes. For this latter point, we need to advance our understanding of how plants communicate with, and are able to differentiate between, microbes of different lifestyles. Here, we present a review of the key findings on belowground plant–microbial interactions that have been made over the past decade, with a specific focus on how plants and microbes communicate. We also discuss the currently unresolved questions in this area, and propose plausible ways to use currently available research and integrate fast-emerging ‘-omics’ technologies to tackle these questions. Combining past and developing research will enable the development of new crop varieties that will have new, value-added phenotypes belowground.

Corrigendum to: Soil indicators and their use by farmers in the Billabong Catchment, southern New South Wales

Soil Research ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 340
Author(s):  
B. Kelly ◽  
C. Allan ◽  
B. P. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Health Need ◽  
Soil Indicators

'Soil health' programs and projects in Australia's agricultural districts are designed to influence farmers' management behaviours, usually to produce better outcomes for production, conservation, and sustainability. These programs usually examine soil management practices from a soil science perspective, but how soils are understood by farmers, and how that understanding informs their farm management decisions, is poorly documented. The research presented in this paper sought to better understand how dryland farmers in the Billabong catchment of southern New South Wales use soil indicators to inform their management decisions. Thematic content analysis of transcripts of semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with farmers suggest several themes that have implications for soil scientists and other professionals wishing to promote soil health in the dryland farming regions of south-eastern Australia. In particular, all soil indicators, including those related to soil 'health', need to relate to some clear, practical use to farmers if they are to be used in farm decision making. This research highlights a reliance of the participants of this research on agronomists. Reliance on agronomists for soil management decisions may result in increasing loss of connectivity between farmers and their land. If this reflects a wider trend, soil health projects may need to consider where best to direct their capacity-building activities, and/or how to re-empower individual farmers.

scholarly journals SMAF: A Soil Health Assessment Tool

2013 ◽  
Vol 120 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
D. L. KARLEN ◽  
C. D. NANCE ◽  
D. L. DINNES ◽  
D. W. MEEK
Keyword(s):  
Soil Quality ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Winter Triticale ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Health Differences ◽  
Health Assessments

The Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) was developed to help quantify soil quality/health effects of tillage, crop rotation, and other soil management practices. Our objective was to determine if the SMAF could detect soil health differences after growing a single winter triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) crop. Soil samples were collected from 0 to 7.5- and 7.5 to 15-cm depth increments during the 2003 – 2004 and 2004 – 2005 growing seasons near Ames and Lewis, IA, and analyzed for several potential soil quality indicators. The SMAF analysis showed higher soil quality ratings for surface than subsurface samples. It also showed that a single winter grain crop can significantly improve soil quality after either corn (Zea mays L.) or soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.). Finally, in response to increasing interest in soil health assessments, a detailed appendix is attached to provide guidance for future soil health assessments.

scholarly journals Crop response to soil management practices is driven by interactions among practices, crop species and soil type

2019 ◽  
Vol 243 ◽  
pp. 107623 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.-E. Samson ◽  
S. Menasseri-Aubry ◽  
M.H. Chantigny ◽  
D.A. Angers ◽  
I. Royer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Type ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Crop Response ◽  
Crop Species

scholarly journals Responses of Bacterial and Fungal Community Structure to Different Rates of 1,3-Dichloropropene Fumigation

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 212-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Zeng ◽  
Zaid Abdo ◽  
Amy Charkowski ◽  
Jane E. Stewart ◽  
Kenneth Frost
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Soil Microbial Communities ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Potato Production ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Soil Microbial Community Structure ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Sample Depth

1,3-Dichloropropene (1,3-D) is a well-known nematicidal soil fumigant on many crop species. Currently, little is known about its impact on soil microbial communities using culture-free methods. In this study, we investigated changes in soil bacterial and fungal diversity and composition at two depths (30.5 and 61 cm) in response to management practices of applying 1,3-D at four different rates (103, 122, 140, and 187 liters/ha) relative to an untreated control in potato production fields using 16S rRNA and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) amplicon sequencing. A total of 12,783 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) for 16S and 1,706 OTUs for ITS were obtained. Sequencing revealed that Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Ascomycota were dominant phyla in soils. Comparing alpha diversity of microbial communities at the different chemical rates with untreated plots showed that bacterial communities in plots treated with 1,3-D fumigation at 140 liters/ha were richer, which was supported by higher richness indices. Other diversity indices and overall soil microbial community structure were not significantly influenced by any rates of 1,3-D fumigation, although higher bacterial and fungal richness and diversity were observed in posttreatment soils and/or at 30.5 cm. Of the identified microbial families, the differential abundance of 45 bacterial and 24 fungal families was affected by sample depth, 1,3-D rate, or the interaction of sample depth and 1,3-D. The bacterial family Enterobacteriaceae, which includes species that specialize in decay of complex carbohydrates, increased in abundance post-1,3-D fumigation, and the fungal family Ophiocordycipitaceae, which includes nematode and insect pathogens, decreased, suggesting that the nematode and soil insect death caused by fumigation may selectively impact specific fungal and bacterial families.

scholarly journals Microbial Shifts Following Five Years of Cover Cropping and Tillage Practices in Fertile Agroecosystems

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 1773
Author(s):  
Nakian Kim ◽  
María C. Zabaloy ◽  
Chance W. Riggins ◽  
Sandra Rodríguez-Zas ◽  
María B. Villamil
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Research ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Nutrient Losses ◽  
Tillage Practices ◽  
Cover Cropping ◽  
Tillage System

Metagenomics in agricultural research allows for searching for bioindicators of soil health to characterize changes caused by management practices. Cover cropping (CC) improves soil health by mitigating nutrient losses, yet the benefits depend on the tillage system used. Field studies searching for indicator taxa within these systems are scarce and narrow in their scope. Our goal was to identify bioindicators of soil health from microbes that were responsive to CC (three levels) and tillage (chisel tillage, no-till) treatments after five years under field conditions. We used rRNA gene-based analysis via Illumina HiSeq2500 technology with QIIME 2.0 processing to characterize the microbial communities. Our results indicated that CC and tillage differentially changed the relative abundances (RAs) of the copiotrophic and oligotrophic guilds. Corn–soybean rotations with legume–grass CC increased the RA of copiotrophic decomposers more than rotations with grass CC, whereas rotations with only bare fallows favored stress-tolerant oligotrophs, including nitrifiers and denitrifiers. Unlike bacteria, fewer indicator fungi and archaea were detected; fungi were poorly identified, and their responses were inconsistent, while the archaea RA increased under bare fallow treatments. This is primary information that allows for understanding the potential for managing the soil community compositions using cover crops to reduce nutrient losses to the environment.

Soil indicators and their use by farmers in the Billabong Catchment, southern New South Wales

Soil Research ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 234 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Kelly ◽  
C. Allan ◽  
B. P. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Health Need ◽  
Soil Indicators

‘Soil health’ programs and projects in Australia’s agricultural districts are designed to influence farmers’ management behaviours, usually to produce better outcomes for production, conservation, and sustainability. These programs usually examine soil management practices from a soil science perspective, but how soils are understood by farmers, and how that understanding informs their farm management decisions, is poorly documented. The research presented in this paper sought to better understand how dryland farmers in the Billabong catchment of southern New South Wales use soil indicators to inform their management decisions. Thematic content analysis of transcripts of semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with farmers suggest several themes that have implications for soil scientists and other professionals wishing to promote soil health in the dryland farming regions of south-eastern Australia. In particular, all soil indicators, including those related to soil ‘health’, need to relate to some clear, practical use to farmers if they are to be used in farm decision making. This research highlights a reliance of the participants of this research on agronomists. Reliance on agronomists for soil management decisions may result in increasing loss of connectivity between farmers and their land. If this reflects a wider trend, soil health projects may need to consider where best to direct their capacity-building activities, and/or how to re-empower individual farmers.

Functional and molecular responses of soil microbial communities under differing soil management practices

2004 ◽  
Vol 36 (11) ◽  
pp. 1873-1883 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmine Crecchio ◽  
Antonio Gelsomino ◽  
Roberto Ambrosoli ◽  
José Luis Minati ◽  
Pacifico Ruggiero
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Soil Microbial Communities ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Molecular Responses ◽  
Soil Microbial

scholarly journals Effects of Semiarid Wheat Agriculture Management Practices on Soil Microbial Properties: A Review

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 852
Author(s):  
Hannah R. Rodgers ◽  
Jay B. Norton ◽  
Linda T. A. van Diepen
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Activity ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Bacterial Biomass ◽  
Microbial Properties ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
C Storage ◽  
Long Term Changes ◽  
Soil Microbial Properties

Agricultural management decisions on factors such as tillage, fertilization, and cropping system determine the fate of much of the world’s soils, and soil microbes both mediate and respond to these changes. However, relationships between management practices and soil microbial properties are poorly understood, especially in semiarid regions. To address this knowledge gap, we reviewed research papers published between 2000 and 2020 that analyzed soil microorganisms in semiarid wheat fields. We aimed to determine if and how soil microbial properties reliably respond to management, and how these properties indicate long-term changes in soil health, carbon (C) sequestration, and crop yield. We found that reducing tillage increases microbial activity as much as 50% in upper soil layers and stratifies both bacteria and fungi by depth. Higher cropping intensity (reduced fallow) increases C storage, microbial activity, and biomass, and particularly fungal biomass, which can be three times greater under continuous wheat than wheat-fallow. Chemical and organic fertilizers both increase bacterial biomass, though only organic inputs provide lasting benefits by promoting C storage and increasing fungal as well as bacterial biomass. We found microbial properties to be sensitive indicators of long-term changes in soil health and productivity, and formed recommendations on appropriate sampling, analysis, and interpretation of microbial data depending on the system studied.

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