Objective Saline-alkali soil is an important farmland resource in China. This study explored the effects of a bio-organic fertilizer fortified with a functional strain isolated from the crop rhizosphere of saline-alkali soil on the growth and the grain yield and quality of peanut plants in saline-alkali soil. The results are expected provide a solution for the development of specific microbial organic fertilizers for saline-alkali soil. Methods We first compared the rhizosphere bacterial communities of peanut plants growing in low-salt stress and non-salt stress soils, and identified the potential taxa improving the salt tolerance of plants that were enriched in the peanut rhizosphere under low-salt stress. A strain named HS6 capable of enhancing the salt tolerance of peanut plants was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of peanut plants. It was preliminarily identified as Bacillus paralicheniformis HS6. A microbial organic fertilizer was prepared by combining this strain with organic fertilizer. A field experiment was carried out in coastal saline-alkali land, including a control treatment (CK: decomposed organic fertilizer) and treatment 1 (T1: decomposed organic fertilizer supplemented with the cells of strain HS6). The growth and yield-related indicators of peanut plants were determined by counting and weighting, and the quality of peanuts was determined by the Kjeldahl method and the Soxhlet extraction method. Results The soil salt concentration higher than 0.3% significantly inhibited the growth of peanut plants. The principal component analysis revealed a significant difference in the peanut rhizosphere bacterial communities between low-salt stress (0.3%) and non-salt stress soils. Under low-salt stress, 22 differential taxa, mainly including Bacillaceae, were positively enriched in the peanut rhizosphere. The application of the organic fertilizer prepared with strain HS6 significantly promoted the growth, enhanced the biomass accumulation, and increased the number of nodules of peanut plants. The number of peanut nodules of T1 was 5 times that of CK. Moreover, the functional microbial fertilizer improved the yield and quality of peanuts. Compared with CK, T1 decreased the crude protein content of peanuts by 13.84%, while increasing the crude fat content of peanuts by 5.63%. Conclusion Low-salt stress can promote the enrichment of functional microbial taxa capable of enhancing salt tolerance in the peanut rhizosphere. The microbial organic fertilizer fortified with the functional strain enriched in the rhizosphere under salt stress can significantly improve the yield and quality of peanuts, demonstrating the potential to serve as a special microbial fertilizer for saline-alkali soil.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |