Abstract
Winter wheat is an important global cereal crop. However, conventional farming practices, characterised by intensive tillage and high fertilizer inputs, pose significant threats to the environment. In response, more conservative management practices are being applied aiming to maintain wheat production while promoting a beneficial microbiome. Here, we evaluated the suitability of three different wheat varieties for less intensive agricultural systems, focusing on reduced tillage and fertilizer intensity. The study was conducted over two consecutive years in a Swiss long-term field experiment comparing conventional versus reduced tillage and full fertilization versus half fertilization. In addition, we investigated the composition of plant-associated microbial communities using amplicon sequencing of phylogenetic marker genes, specifically targeting bacteria and fungi in rhizosphere samples and fungi in root samples. Our results revealed that in our study wheat variety most strongly predicted grain yield and quality, independent of tillage and fertilization intensity. Specifically, wheat varieties demonstrated higher yields and N uptake in plots subjected to conventional ploughing and full fertilization compared to those under reduced tillage and half fertilization. We found no significant effect of wheat variety on the composition of microbial communities. However, tillage emerged as the primary factor influencing microbial community composition in the rhizosphere, while fertilization intensity significantly impacted fungal communities in the root system. These findings underscore the complex interplay between agronomic practices, plant genetics, and microbial dynamics in agroecosystems, emphasizing the need for holistic and adaptive approaches and their further development to ensure sustainable crop production. • Wheat variety but not tillage nor fertilization predicted grain yield and quality. • Differential effect of management on microbial communities in roots and rhizosphere. • Tillage shaped bacterial and fungal communities in the rhizosphere. • Fertilization but not tillage shaped fungal communities in wheat roots.
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Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
Wheat variety most strongly predicted grain yield and quality independently of management intensity.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivume0 - Material
- wheat varietye0
- Outcome
- grain yield and qualitye0
- Qualifier
- independent of tillage and fertilization intensitye0
- Setting
- Swiss long-term field experimente1
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“wheat variety most strongly predicted grain yield and quality, independent of tillage and fertilization intensity”
e1“Swiss long-term field experiment”
Claim · model-written summary
Conventional ploughing and full fertilization produced higher wheat yields and N uptake than reduced tillage and half fertilization.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- conventional ploughing and full fertilizatione0
- Outcome
- yields and N uptakee0
- Direction
- highere0
- Comparator
- reduced tillage and half fertilizatione0
- Setting
- Swiss long-term field experimente1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“wheat varieties demonstrated higher yields and N uptake in plots subjected to conventional ploughing and full fertilization compared to those under reduced tillage and half fertilization”
e1“Swiss long-term field experiment”
Claim · model-written summary
Wheat variety had no significant effect on microbial community composition.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- wheat varietye0
- Outcome
- composition of microbial communitiese0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“We found no significant effect of wheat variety on the composition of microbial communities.”
Claim · model-written summary
Tillage was the primary influence on rhizosphere microbial community composition.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Organ / stage
- rhizospheree0
- Treatment
- tillagee0
- Outcome
- microbial community compositione0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“tillage emerged as the primary factor influencing microbial community composition in the rhizosphere”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Fertilization intensity significantly affected root fungal communities.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivumt0
- Organ / stage
- root systeme0
- Treatment
- fertilization intensitye0
- Outcome
- fungal communitiese0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“fertilization intensity significantly impacted fungal communities in the root system”
t0“wheat”
Claim · model-written summary
Tillage did not shape fungal communities in wheat roots.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Organ / stage
- rootse0
- Treatment
- tillagee0
- Outcome
- fungal communitiese0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Fertilization but not tillage shaped fungal communities in wheat roots.”
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