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Intercropping with maize (Zea mays L.) enhanced the suppression of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Phytophthora blight by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

  • Soils, Sec 4 • Ecotoxicology • Research Article
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

The biocontrol of pepper (Capsicum annum L.) Phytophthora blight by either exploitation of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus or intercropping with maize (Zea mays L.) has been well documented, while the potential contribution of AM fungal hyphal networks is poorly understood. The purpose of this work was to resolve the abundance, colonization, and role of AM fungi in the pepper/maize combinations with different row distances, focusing on pepper Phytophthora blight suppression and interspecific nutrient competitive relations.

Materials and methods

A 14-week pot experiment was firstly carried out on a sterilized soil inoculated with Phytophthora capsici and with (+ M) or without (-M) AM fungus Funneliformis caledonium. Pepper and maize roots were absolutely separated (Sep) by polyvinyl chloride layer or semi-separated (Semi-Sep) by nylon mesh (30 μm) screen. Blight severity, fruit yield, plant biomass, and P and K acquisitions were all measured. Another 158-day field experiment included three treatments: pepper monocropping (control) and intercropping with maize under same ridge width (SRW) or same row distance (SRD). The disease categories of ten pepper plants per ridge and the economic yields of both plants per plot were recorded, and five pepper and three maize plants per plot were collected to test tissue biomass, and P and K acquisitions.

Results and discussion

Sep + M resulted in lower pepper Phytophthora blight severity relative to Sep-M, while Semi-Sep + M induced lower blight severity and higher mycorrhizal colonization, K acquisition, and fruit biomass of pepper compared to Sep + M. Both SRW and SRD increased AM fungal abundance, mycorrhizal colonization, and plant total P and K acquisition per plot, and decreased blight incidence and severity and fruit biomass of individual pepper due to interspecific competition. Compared with SRD, SRW induced higher mycorrhizal colonization of both plants, and lower blight incidence and severity and higher maize yield per plot. There were no significant differences in interspecific nutrient distributions between SRW and SRD, but SRW had higher P acquisition per plot of both plants, as well as K acquisition per plot of maize compared to SRD.

Conclusions

Intercropping with maize could further suppress pepper Phytophthora blight and increase the fruit biomass via elevating root mycorrhization. Compared with SRD, intercropping at a relatively narrow row distance (e.g., SRW) did not change the interspecific nutrient (P and K) distributions, but brought about stronger mycorrhization, as well as lower blight severity and higher economic yield per unit area. It suggests that SRW has the practical advantages in suppressing pepper Phytophthora blight and guaranteeing the utmost output.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Mr. Yangguo Tan and Jiu’an Tan for their support on the field experiment, and to four anonymous reviewers for their useful suggestions on manuscript revision.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (No. 41671265) and the National Key R & D Program (2017YFD0200603) of China. Junli Hu is supported by the Talents Project of State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture (Y412010009) and the fellowship of the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. 2016285).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, East Beijing Road 71, Nanjing, 210008, People’s Republic of China

    Junli Hu, Shaowei Hou, Peng Cai, Minghui Li & Xiangui Lin

  2. Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-Environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, People’s Republic of China

    Shaowei Hou & Fuyong Wu

  3. College of Environment, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, People’s Republic of China

    Peng Cai & Zhang Cheng

  4. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yuquan Road 19A, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Junli Hu

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  1. Junli Hu
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Hu, J., Hou, S., Cai, P. et al. Intercropping with maize (Zea mays L.) enhanced the suppression of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Phytophthora blight by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. J Soils Sediments 23, 891–901 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-022-03351-4

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