Abstract
Abstract Crop diversity management is widely used to increase agricultural productivity and sustainability. Recent studies have demonstrated that maize root exudates can drive interspecific facilitation to enhance N 2 fixation of bean in intercropping systems. However, the mechanisms of N 2 fixation enhancement stimulated by root exudates in the intercropping systems remain unclear. Four experiments were designed to provide a progressively deeper understanding of how root exudates stimulate microbial‐mediated N 2 fixation. First, the effects of faba bean/maize intercropping on yields and soil microbial communities were determined in a field experiment. Second, root‐derived interspecific facilitation was evaluated using a root partitioning approach. Third, the key microbial taxa in the faba bean rhizosphere were traced using 13 C‐labelled maize root exudates. Fourth, the co‐driven mechanism of maize root exudates and micro‐organisms in the faba bean rhizosphere were explored. Faba bean/maize intercropping with maize residue return increased the yields of faba bean (26%), maize (27%) and broccoli (9.1%) compared to that under monocropping. Nodulin‐like 4 (NODL4), chalcone‐flavanone isomerase (CFI) and early nodulin‐like (ENODL2) gene expression in faba bean roots intercropped with maize increased by 1.5–2.3‐fold compared to that observed under monoculture. More than half of the N 2 fixation of faba bean increase under intercropping was due to interactions with micro‐organisms. Nine key bacterial genera in the faba bean rhizosphere were identified by 13 C‐DNA‐based stable isotope probing analysis. Among them Agromyces , Arthrobacter , Bacillus , Lysobacter and Paenibacillus directly fix N 2 , while Gemmatimonas , Heliobacillus , Natronocella and Sorangium increase the N 2 fixation capacity of Azotobacter by providing additional carbon sources. These key bacteria triggered by maize root exudates played an important role in the rhizosphere facilitation of intercropping. Synthesis and applications . We demonstrated a novel root–root facilitation of N 2 fixation and increased crop yields co‐driven by root exudates and rhizosphere bacteria under faba bean/maize intercropping, and nine key bacteria associated with this process were identified by 13 C‐DNA‐based stable isotope probing. We recommend the adoption and optimization of intercropping systems with residue return to reduce the shortcomings of continuous cropping and to increase the sustainability of crop production.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
Faba bean/maize intercropping with maize residue return increased faba bean yield by 26% compared with monocropping.
- Taxon
- faba bean
Vicia fabae1 - Treatment
- Faba bean/maize intercropping with maize residue returne1
- Outcome
- yieldse1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Value
- 26%e1
- Comparator
- monocroppinge1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Faba bean/maize intercropping with maize residue return increased the yields of faba bean (26%), maize (27%) and broccoli (9.1%) compared to that under monocropping”
Claim · model-written summary
Faba bean/maize intercropping with maize residue return increased maize yield by 27% compared with monocropping.
- Treatment
- Faba bean/maize intercropping with maize residue returne1
- Outcome
- yieldse1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Value
- 27%e1
- Comparator
- monocroppinge1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Faba bean/maize intercropping with maize residue return increased the yields of faba bean (26%), maize (27%) and broccoli (9.1%) compared to that under monocropping”
Claim · model-written summary
Faba bean/maize intercropping with maize residue return increased broccoli yield by 9.1% compared with monocropping.
- Taxon
- broccoli
Brassica oleracea var. italicae1 - Treatment
- Faba bean/maize intercropping with maize residue returne1
- Outcome
- yieldse1
- Direction
- increasede1
- Value
- 9.1%e1
- Comparator
- monocroppinge1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Faba bean/maize intercropping with maize residue return increased the yields of faba bean (26%), maize (27%) and broccoli (9.1%) compared to that under monocropping”
Claim · model-written summary
Nodulation-related gene expression in faba bean roots intercropped with maize increased 1.5–2.3-fold compared with monoculture.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae2
- Organ / stage
- faba bean rootse2
- Treatment
- intercropped with maizee2
- Gene
- Nodulin-like 4 (NODL4), chalcone-flavanone isomerase (CFI) and early nodulin-like (ENODL2)e2
- Outcome
- gene expressione2
- Direction
- increasede2
- Value
- 1.5–2.3e2
- Comparator
- monoculturee2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e2“Nodulin-like 4 (NODL4), chalcone-flavanone isomerase (CFI) and early nodulin-like (ENODL2) gene expression in faba bean roots intercropped with maize increased by 1.5–2.3‐fold compared to that observed under monoculture”
Claim · model-written summary
More than half of the N2 fixation increase of faba bean under intercropping was due to interactions with micro-organisms.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae3
- Interactor
- micro-organismse3symbiont
- Outcome
- N 2 fixatione3
- Qualifier
- More than halfe3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e3“More than half of the N 2 fixation of faba bean increase under intercropping was due to interactions with micro-organisms”
Claim · model-written summary
Nine key bacterial genera were identified in the faba bean rhizosphere by 13C-DNA stable isotope probing.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae4
- Organ / stage
- faba bean rhizospheree4
- Outcome
- Nine key bacterial generae4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Nine key bacterial genera in the faba bean rhizosphere were identified by 13 C‐DNA‐based stable isotope probing analysis”
Claim · model-written summary
Agromyces, Arthrobacter and Bacillus directly fix N2.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae4
- Interactor
- Agromyces , Arthrobacter , Bacilluse5symbiont
- Outcome
- directly fix N2e5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Nine key bacterial genera in the faba bean rhizosphere were identified by 13 C‐DNA‐based stable isotope probing analysis”
e5“Agromyces , Arthrobacter , Bacillus , Lysobacter and Paenibacillus directly fix N 2 , while Gemmatimonas , Heliobacillus , Natronocella and Sorangium increase the N 2 fixation capacity of Azotobacter by providing additional carbon sources”
Claim · model-written summary
Lysobacter and Paenibacillus directly fix N2.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae4
- Interactor
- Lysobacter and Paenibacillus
Lysobacter
Paenibacilluse5symbiont - Outcome
- directly fix N2e5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Nine key bacterial genera in the faba bean rhizosphere were identified by 13 C‐DNA‐based stable isotope probing analysis”
e5“Agromyces , Arthrobacter , Bacillus , Lysobacter and Paenibacillus directly fix N 2 , while Gemmatimonas , Heliobacillus , Natronocella and Sorangium increase the N 2 fixation capacity of Azotobacter by providing additional carbon sources”
Claim · model-written summary
Gemmatimonas, Heliobacillus and Natronocella increase N2 fixation capacity of Azotobacter by providing additional carbon sources.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae4
- Interactor
- Gemmatimonas , Heliobacillus , NatronocellaHeliobacillus
GemmatimonasNatronocellae5symbiont - Outcome
- increase the N 2 fixation capacity of Azotobactere5
- Qualifier
- by providing additional carbon sourcese5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Nine key bacterial genera in the faba bean rhizosphere were identified by 13 C‐DNA‐based stable isotope probing analysis”
e5“Agromyces , Arthrobacter , Bacillus , Lysobacter and Paenibacillus directly fix N 2 , while Gemmatimonas , Heliobacillus , Natronocella and Sorangium increase the N 2 fixation capacity of Azotobacter by providing additional carbon sources”
Claim · model-written summary
Sorangium increases N2 fixation capacity of Azotobacter by providing additional carbon sources.
- Taxon
- faba beanVicia fabae4
- Outcome
- increase the N 2 fixation capacity of Azotobactere5
- Qualifier
- by providing additional carbon sourcese5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Nine key bacterial genera in the faba bean rhizosphere were identified by 13 C‐DNA‐based stable isotope probing analysis”
e5“Agromyces , Arthrobacter , Bacillus , Lysobacter and Paenibacillus directly fix N 2 , while Gemmatimonas , Heliobacillus , Natronocella and Sorangium increase the N 2 fixation capacity of Azotobacter by providing additional carbon sources”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend adopting and optimizing faba bean/maize intercropping with residue return.
- Taxon
- faba bean/maizeVicia faba
Zea mayse1 - Outcome
- adoption and optimization of intercropping systems with residue returne6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“Faba bean/maize intercropping with maize residue return increased the yields of faba bean (26%), maize (27%) and broccoli (9.1%) compared to that under monocropping”
e6“We recommend the adoption and optimization of intercropping systems with residue return to reduce the shortcomings of continuous cropping and to increase the sustainability of crop production”
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See all 43 papers →8 of 12 groups shown: named compounds and organisms first, then groups whose results differ (checked claim by claim), then those with positive and negative results, then the smaller groups.
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.