Summary
This field study examined how rhizosphere microorganisms affect soybean performance in saline-alkali soils of northeastern China, comparing a salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive cultivar under both saline-alkali and normal conditions. Soybeans in saline-alkali soil exhibited substantial reductions across key yield traits (13–33%), with microbial analysis revealing distinct microbial community shifts: 43 depleted and 56 enriched OTUs, and 85 microbe taxa significantly associated with soil ions. The findings suggest that targeted manipulation of rhizosphere microbiota could offer a low-cost, environmentally friendly strategy to improve crop productivity on marginal saline-alkali lands.
Regional applicability
Direct applicability to UK agriculture is limited, as saline-alkali soils are not widespread in temperate maritime climates. However, the microbe-ion association framework and cultivar-specific rhizosphere profiling methods may inform management strategies for salt-affected soils in irrigated UK horticulture or specialist arable systems under climate change.
Key measures
Plant height, pod number, seed yield, 100-seed weight; operational taxonomic units (OTUs) depleted and enriched in saline-alkali soil; microbial taxa significantly correlated with soil ions; redundancy analysis (RDA) of microbial community structure relative to soil pH and ion concentrations
Outcomes reported
The study measured changes in soybean agronomic traits (plant height, pod number, seed yield, 100-seed weight) and characterised rhizosphere microbial community composition and ion-microbe associations in saline-alkali versus normal soils across salt-tolerant and salt-sensitive cultivars.
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