Effects of Soil Tillage, Management Practices, and Mulching Film Application on Soil Health and Peanut Yield in a Continuous Cropping System

Summary

Our objective was to optimize soil management practices to improve soil health to increase peanut (<i>Arachis hypogaea</i> L.) yield. We studied the effects of using rotary tillage with mulching film or without [rotary tillage with no mulching (RTNM)], plow tillage with mulching film or without, and green manure with mulching film (GMMF) or without [green manure with no mulching (GMNM)] over 3 years in Tai'an, China. Results showed that compared with RTNM treatment, GMNM and GMMF treatments significantly (<i>P</i> < 0.05) increased soil organic carbon, enzymatic activity, and the available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content. The dominant bacterial phyla in the soil across all treatments were Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria. Bacterial richness and diversity in the