Abstract
Dry-sowing and wet-emergence (DSWE) has emerged as a promising water and fertilizer management strategy in arid regions, reducing irrigation water use by ∼40 % while ensuring uniform seedling emergence. However, research on the mechanisms through which water and fertilizer regimes of DSWE affect cotton yield in southern Xinjiang under DSWE remains limited. This study employed high-throughput 16S rRNA sequencing and structural equation modeling (SEM) to elucidate the pathways linking soil environment, microbial communities, and cotton yield under different water-fertilizer regimes. Results showed that irrigation primarily regulated soil nutrient availability and organic matter accumulation. In contrast, fertilizer type strongly influenced soil NPK contents. Their coupling significantly shaped soil microbial communities, altered nitrogen cycling functions, and ultimately affected cotton yield. Specifically, the W2 quota (517.5 mm) maintained higher soil nutrients across growth stages, and F1 fertilization increased AN, AP, and AK levels by up to 41.34 %. W2 also resulted in the highest SOM, though with reductions of up to 28.10 % in AN and 38.72 % in AP. High-throughput sequencing revealed Proteobacteria (30.47 %), Acidobacteriota (13.62 %), and Chloroflexi (11.99 %) were the dominant phyla. The most complex microbial network was observed under W2, while F2 increased network complexity by 26.44 % compared with F3. Reduced irrigation suppressed chemoheterotrophy and nitrate reduction by 32.36 % and 3.17 %, respectively. SEM indicated that irrigation quotas and fertilizer types regulated key taxa ( KD4–96 , Sphingomonadales , Xanthomonadales ), thereby influencing nitrogen cycling-related functions and yield. PCA and the entropy weight method identified W2F2 as the optimal water-fertilizer combination for efficient cotton production in arid and semi-arid regions. • Irrigation regulated soil nutrients and SOM; fertilizer affected NPK levels. • Water-fertilizer coupling reshaped microbial communities and N cycling. • W2 maintained higher soil nutrients and SOM throughout growth stages. • Key taxa ( KD4–96 , Sphingomonadales , Xanthomonadales ) linked practices to yield. • W2F2 identified as optimal water-fertilizer regime for arid cotton production.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
W2 maintained higher soil nutrients across growth stages.
- Taxon
- cotton
Gossypium hirsutumt0 - Organ / stage
- growth stagese0
- Treatment
- W2 quota (517.5 mm)e0
- Outcome
- soil nutrientse0
- Direction
- highere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“W2 quota (517.5 mm) maintained higher soil nutrients across growth stages”
t0“cotton”
Claim · model-written summary
F1 fertilization increased soil AN, AP and AK by up to 41.34%.
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Treatment
- F1 fertilizatione0
- Outcome
- AN, AP, and AK levelse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 41.34 %e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“F1 fertilization increased AN, AP, and AK levels by up to 41.34 %”
t0“cotton”
Claim · model-written summary
W2 produced the highest soil organic matter.
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Treatment
- W2e0
- Outcome
- SOMe0
- Direction
- higheste0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“W2 also resulted in the highest SOM”
t0“cotton”
Claim · model-written summary
W2 reduced AN by up to 28.10%.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“W2 also resulted in the highest SOM, though with reductions of up to 28.10 % in AN”
t0“cotton”
Claim · model-written summary
W2 reduced AP by up to 38.72%.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“W2 also resulted in the highest SOM, though with reductions of up to 28.10 % in AN and 38.72 % in AP”
t0“cotton”
Claim · model-written summary
Proteobacteria, Acidobacteriota, and Chloroflexi dominated soil microbial communities.
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Interactor
- ProteobacteriaPseudomonadotae0symbiont
- Outcome
- dominant phylae0
- Qualifier
- Acidobacteriota (13.62 %), and Chloroflexi (11.99 %)e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Proteobacteria (30.47 %), Acidobacteriota (13.62 %), and Chloroflexi (11.99 %) were the dominant phyla”
t0“cotton”
Claim · model-written summary
W2 had the most complex microbial network.
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Treatment
- W2e0
- Outcome
- microbial networke0
- Direction
- most complexe0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“most complex microbial network was observed under W2”
t0“cotton”
Claim · model-written summary
F2 increased network complexity by 26.44% relative to F3.
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Treatment
- F2e0
- Outcome
- network complexitye0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 26.44 %e0
- Comparator
- F3e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“F2 increased network complexity by 26.44 % compared with F3”
t0“cotton”
Claim · model-written summary
Reduced irrigation suppressed chemoheterotrophy by 32.36%.
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Treatment
- Reduced irrigatione0
- Outcome
- chemoheterotrophye0
- Direction
- suppressede0
- Value
- 32.36 %e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Reduced irrigation suppressed chemoheterotrophy and nitrate reduction by 32.36 % and 3.17 %, respectively”
t0“cotton”
Claim · model-written summary
Reduced irrigation suppressed nitrate reduction by 3.17%.
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Treatment
- Reduced irrigatione0
- Outcome
- nitrate reductione0
- Direction
- suppressede0
- Value
- 3.17 %e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Reduced irrigation suppressed chemoheterotrophy and nitrate reduction by 32.36 % and 3.17 %, respectively”
t0“cotton”
Claim · model-written summary
W2F2 was identified as the optimal production combination.
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutume0
- Outcome
- W2F2 as the optimal water-fertilizer combinatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“identified W2F2 as the optimal water-fertilizer combination for efficient cotton production”
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See all 32 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.