Abstract
Background and aims
Variations in root-associated fungal communities contribute to the so-called ‘crop rotation benefit’ on soil productivity. We assessed the effects of chickpea, lentil, and pea in wheat-based rotations, as compared to wheat monoculture, on the structure of root-associated fungal communities, and described the legacy of pulses on a following wheat crop.
Methods
The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and 18S rRNA gene markers, and 454 amplicon pyrosequencing were used to describe the fungal communities of crop roots and rhizosphere soil in a field experiment and agronomic data were collected.
Results
Pulses influenced only the structure of the non-mycorrhizal fungal community of roots. Fusarium tricinctum, Clonostachys rosea, Fusarium redolens, and Cryptococcus sp. were specific to certain crops. Despite the absence of selective effects of pulses on their associated arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal community, pea had a legacy effect on the structure of the AM fungal community associated with the roots of the following wheat crop, in one of the two year/sites examined. Species of Mortierella, Cryptococcus, and Paraglomus in wheat rhizosphere soil may benefit yield, whereas species of Fusarium, Davidiella, Lachnum, Sistotrema and Podospora may reduce yield.
Conclusion
The effect of pulse crops on root fungal communities varied with rotation crop species. Pulses had various effects on the physiology of the following wheat crop, including increased productivity.




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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Keith Hanson, Elijah Atuku, Cal McDonald, and Lee Poppy for their technical assistance. This work was supported by Saskatchewan Pulse Growers and the Growing Forward Program of the Government of Canada.
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Borrell, A.N., Shi, Y., Gan, Y. et al. Fungal diversity associated with pulses and its influence on the subsequent wheat crop in the Canadian prairies. Plant Soil 414, 13–31 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-3075-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-3075-y


