Phase changes of continuous cropping obstacles in strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) production

• Published in: Applied soil ecology : a section of Agriculture, ecosystems & environment Vol. 155; p. 103626
• Main Authors: Chen, Peng, Wang, Yu-zhu, Liu, Qi-zhi, Zhang, Yun-tao, Li, Xing-yue, Li, He-qin, Li, Wei-hua
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.11.2020
• Subjects: 4-hydroxybenzoic acid; ammonium nitrogen; Arthrobotrys; cinnamic acid; continuous cropping; Continuous cropping obstacle; Cultivated strawberry; ferulic acid; Fragaria ananassa; Fusarium; greenhouses; High throughput; Humicola; Land degradation; Nematoda; p-coumaric acid; phosphorus; potassium; soil ecology; Soil environment; soil nematodes; soil organic matter; Sphingomonas; strawberries; total nitrogen; High throughput; Soil environment; Cultivated strawberry; Land degradation; Continuous cropping obstacle
• ISSN: 0929-1393; 1873-0272
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsoil.2020.103626

Soil ecology plays an important role in the growth and health of plants. Research suggests that long-term monocropping may lead to soil ecological disorders. In this study, we aimed to understand the reasons for the decrease in plant productivity stemming from long-term monoculture cropping. Greenhouse studies were conducted to determine the cause of continuous cropping (CC) obstacles in soils under 12 years of continuous strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) production. The data suggested that CC led to three phases of changes in abiotic and biotic soil factors. In phase I (CC for 2–6 years), significant changes were observed only in soil physicochemical properties, such as the pH, total nitrogen (TN), ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N), available phosphorus (AP), available potassium (AK) and soil organic matter (SOM), which obviously changed from the second year to the sixth year. In phase II (CC for 6–8 years), two biotic factors, key fungi such as Fusarium, Humicola and Arthrobotrys and soil nematodes, i.e., populations and communities of nematodes, started to change significantly in terms of their abundance. In phase III (CC for >8 years), the accumulation of phenolic acids, i.e., p-hydroxybenzoic acid (p-HBA), ferulic acid (FA), p-coumaric acid (p-CA) and cinnamic acid (CA), significantly inhibited crop growth, and the abundance of key bacteria, including Bacillus, Sphingomonas and Sphingopyxis, started to change significantly from the eighth CC year. The results in this study provide useful information for solving CC obstacles in strawberry production. [Display omitted] •Continuous cropping led to changes in abiotic and biotic factors in the soil.•This is the first attempt to comprehensively interpret continuous cropping obstacles.•The continuous cropping soil changes could be divided into three main phases: Phase I, Phase II, and Phase III.•This research provides useful information to solve strawberry continuous cropping problems.