Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment ›› 2023, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (10): 1297-1307.doi: 10.19741/j.issn.1673-4831.2022.1027

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Effects of Chitosan on Rhizosphere Bacterial Community and Growth in the Young Apple Trees

QIAN Chen, FAN Wei-guo, CAO Qi, YANG Hong-qiang   

  1. College of Horticulture Science and Engineering, Shandong Agricultural University/State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Tai'an 271018, China
  • Received:2022-09-29 Online:2023-10-25 Published:2023-10-23

Abstract: This study invesitigated the growth and rhizosphere soil bacterial diversity of apple trees with root application of chitosan (CTS) by using 2-year-old Fuji (red Fuji/Malus hupehensis and red Fuji/M. robusta) apple seedlings of different rootstocks as test materials. The results show that the above ground dry weight, root dry weight, root-crown ratio, new shoot length and diameter, root vitality and available nutrient in rhizosphere of young apple trees with root application of CTS were all increased in different degrees. Different treatments of CTS concentrations increased the total root length, root surface area, root-volume and root tip number of young apple trees grafted with M. hupehensis and M. robusta, forming a new root configuration characterized by increasing root length and root tips number. The rhizosphere bacterial diversity of young apple trees with applying of CTS significantly changed. Actinomycetes and proteobacteria were the dominant species in rhizosphere soil of young apple trees, and there were certain differences among different rootstocks. The total bacterial population and the total number of characteristic bacteria in rhizosphere soil decreased in the young apple trees with root application of CTS, but the δ-proteobacteria increased significantly. There were differences on the bacterial community structure in the rhizosphere soil of young apple trees with different rootstocks, and the bacterial community structure in the rhizosphere soil were changed, and some specific bacteria could be selectively enriched by applying different CTS concentrations. Higher concentration of CTS had the greatest effect on the composition and diversity of bacterial community in young apple trees, especially for Proteobacteria. The root configuration parameters and root activity of young apple trees were significantly correlated with the abundances of actinomycetes, proteobacteria and Chloroflexi in the rhizosphere of apple soil.

Key words: apple, chitosan (CTS), bacterial community, species diversity, plant growth

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