Abstract
High-density apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) orchards yield fruits as early as three years after planting but nutrient inputs and availability are paramount to a successful orchard; sustainable practices that balance tree growth and production with environmental concerns are not widely available. In this three-year study, we implemented a split-plot design in three orchards across the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA to evaluate integrated soil management approaches that combine locally sourced carbon-based organic mulch with fertilizers on rhizosphere microbes and tree growth. Bacterial and fungal communities were sampled at the end of the first and third growing seasons in addition to soil and tree-related physicochemical properties. Mulch treatment showed the most significant effect on both the bacterial and fungal groups. Most of these changes reflect the increase in soil organic matter and the increase in carbon cycling. Sequence variants belonging to Flavobacteria and Cytophaga were enriched by the mulch application. A key result from this project is the suppression of the relative abundance of potential soil-borne plant fungal pathogens in all orchards in all years. Additionally, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were enriched under the mulch treatment. Microbial shifts accompanying the mulch treatments supported higher trunk cross-sectional areas by the third sampling year that increased by 33.5%. Fertilizer treatments had less pronounced effects on microbial communities. These results highlight the potential for using sustainable, integrated nutrient management strategies to promote healthy orchard soils and support vigorous tree growth while reducing fungal pathogens. Our work will contribute to regional and location-specific fertilizer recommendations for apple producers.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Mulch had the strongest effect on bacterial and fungal groups in apple orchards.
- Taxon
- apple
Malus domesticat0 - Treatment
- Mulch treatmente0
- Outcome
- bacterial and fungal groupse0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Mulch treatment showed the most significant effect on both the bacterial and fungal groups”
t0“apple”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulch was associated with increased soil organic matter and carbon cycling in apple orchards.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- Mulch treatmente1
- Outcome
- soil organic matter and the increase in carbon cyclinge0
- Direction
- increasee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Most of these changes reflect the increase in soil organic matter and the increase in carbon cycling”
t0“apple”
e1“Mulch treatment showed the most significant effect on both the bacterial and fungal groups”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulch enriched Flavobacteria and Cytophaga sequence variants in apple orchard soil.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- mulch applicatione0
- Interactor
- Flavobacteriae0symbiont
- Outcome
- Sequence variants belonging to Flavobacteria and Cytophagae0
- Direction
- enrichede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Sequence variants belonging to Flavobacteria and Cytophaga were enriched by the mulch application”
t0“apple”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulch suppressed the relative abundance of potential soil-borne plant fungal pathogens in every orchard and year.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat1
- Treatment
- Organic Mulch Covert0
- Outcome
- relative abundance of potential soil-borne plant fungal pathogense0
- Direction
- suppressione0
- Qualifier
- in all orchards in all yearse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“suppression of the relative abundance of potential soil-borne plant fungal pathogens in all orchards in all years”
t0“Organic Mulch Cover”
t1“apple”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulch enriched arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in apple orchards.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- mulch treatmente0
- Interactor
- arbuscular mycorrhizal fungie0symbiont
- Outcome
- arbuscular mycorrhizal fungie0
- Direction
- enrichede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were enriched under the mulch treatment”
t0“apple”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulch-associated microbial shifts accompanied a 33.5% increase in apple trunk cross-sectional area by year three.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- mulch treatmentse0
- Outcome
- trunk cross-sectional arease0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 33.5%e0
- Qualifier
- by the third sampling yeare0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Microbial shifts accompanying the mulch treatments supported higher trunk cross-sectional areas by the third sampling year that increased by 33.5%”
t0“apple”
Claim · model-written summary
Fertilizer treatments had weaker effects on apple orchard microbial communities.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- Fertilizer treatmentse0
- Outcome
- microbial communitiese0
- Direction
- less pronouncede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Fertilizer treatments had less pronounced effects on microbial communities”
t0“apple”
The same questions in other papers
organic · pest · Malus domestica (apple)Positive and negative results
2 papers in the same direction as this paper · 2 in the opposite direction
- no effect
- no effect
- positive
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See all 5 papers →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.