Plant-associated microbiome dynamics in a strip-cropped field

Summary

Diversified cropping systems including intercropping and strip cropping have generally been shown to be highly productive and resilient compared to monocropped systems. Enhanced agronomic and environmental benefits that characterize these systems minimize agrochemical use while maintaining high crop yields and production. While these benefits could be driven by higher microbial diversity sculpted by the distinct crop types, we still have limited insight into how plant microbiomes are assembled in these cropping systems at the field scale. Here, we examined the dynamics and site-specific assembly of soil and phyllosphere microbiomes in a rotational faba bean (FB) (Vicia faba) and spring barley (SB) (Hordeum vulgare) strip field during two cropping seasons. FB and SB were grown in neighbouring 6 m wide strips. Using bacterial 16S and fungal ITS amplicon sequencing, we analysed the microbial communities across gradients from the centre of strips towards the edge of strips, where FB and SB strips met.