Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of cassava allelochemicals on rubber tree pathogens, soil microorganisms, and soil fertility in a rubber tree–cassava intercropping system

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Rubber Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis)–cassava (Manihot esculenta) intercropping system is one of the most popular intercropping patterns for small-holder rubber planters. However, this practice is not recommended in some rubber-producing countries, since it is believed that the rubber tree and cassava share some identical pathogens and that the intercropping system will deplete soil fertility. The effects of cassava allelochemicals on rubber tree pathogens have never been reported. Using controlled plate tests, pot tests, and field experiments, this study aimed to assess the possible adverse effects that cassavas may impart to rubber plantations. The results showed: (1) although the leaf extract, decomposed leaf extract and root exudates of cassava inhibited or had no effect on the mycelial growth of the rubber tree pathogen Corynespora cassiicola, 10 mg mL−1 and 100 mg mL−1 cassava leaf water extracts and testing concentrations of cassava root extraction significantly promoted the mycelial growth of the rubber tree pathogen Rigidoporus lignosus, which increased the risk of rubber tree white root disease; (2) the overall soil fertility was increased significantly in the rubber tree–cassava intercropping system. However, the soil phosphorus content was reduced significantly in the field experiment; (3) the average girth of rubber trees was significantly reduced, and the girth uniformity was decreased in the intercropping system. Based on the experiment results, we suggested that an optimised fertiliser recommendation, particularly on the phosphorus amount, should be developed and implemented for the rubber tree–cassava intercropping system. In addition, since the intercropping of cassava will increase the risk of R. lignosus-induced rubber tree white root disease, which is very hard to prevent and eradicate once rubber trees are infected, the intercropping of cassava in rubber plantation rows should not be recommended in the R. lignosus prevailing areas.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Chen S, Peng S, Huang G, Wu K, Fu X, Chen Z (2003) Association of decreased expression of a MYB transcription factor with the TPD (tapping panel dryness) syndrome in Hevea brasiliensis. Plant Mol Biol 51(1):51–58

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Mo Y (2014) Natural rubber is produced in more than 60 countries in the world. China Trop Agric 5:75–76

    Google Scholar 

  3. Mo Y, Yang L (2018) Domestic and oversea natural rubber industry development situation in 2017. World Trop Agric Inf 2:1–3

    Google Scholar 

  4. Clermont-Dauphin C, Dissataporn C, Suvannang N, Pongwichian P, Maeght J-L, Hammecker C, Jourdan C (2018) Intercrops improve the drought resistance of young rubber trees. Agron Sustain Dev 38(6):56

    Google Scholar 

  5. Esekhade T, Orimoloye J, Ugwa I, Idoko S (2003) Potentials of multiple cropping systems in young rubber plantations. J Sustain Agric 22(4):79–94

    Google Scholar 

  6. Li J, Zhou L, Lin W (2019) Calla lily intercropping in rubber tree plantations changes the nutrient content, microbial abundance, and enzyme activity of both rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil and Calla lily growth. Ind Crop Prod 132:344–351

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Chen C, Liu W, Wu J, Jiang X, Zhu XJG (2019) Can intercropping with the cash crop help improve the soil physico-chemical properties of rubber plantations? Geoderma 335:149–160

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Langenberger G, Cadisch G, Martin K, Min S, Waibel H (2017) Rubber intercropping: a viable concept for the 21st century? Agrofor Syst 91(3):577–596

    Google Scholar 

  9. Rodrigo V, Stirling C, Silva T, Pathirana P (2005) The growth and yield of rubber at maturity is improved by intercropping with banana during the early stage of rubber cultivation. Field Crop Res 91(1):23–33

    Google Scholar 

  10. Lin W, Zhen F, Li J, Li Z, Li C, Chen Y, Yan Z, Fu J, Xie G, An F, Wang J, Zhou J (2016) Regulation of rubber tree cultivation [S]. Ny/T221-2016. Ministry of China, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  11. Paisan L (1996) Intercropping of young rubber. Suranaree J Sci Technol 3:171–179

    Google Scholar 

  12. Li J, Zhou L, Lin W (2018) Competitive characteristics related to nitrogen utilization and calla lily growth in rubber-calla lily intercropping systems. Ind Crop Prod 125:567–572

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Huang J, Zhou J, Lin S, Chen Y, Liu X, Li X (2014) Thinking and expectation on intercropping cassava in rubber plantation. Acta Agric Jiangxi 26(1):64–71

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Esekhade TU, Idoko SO, Osazuwa Okore IK, Mesike CS (2014) Effect of intercropping on the gestation period of rubber. Wudpecker J Agric Res 3(8):150–153

    Google Scholar 

  15. Cai J, Chen Y, Pan X, Huang G (2008) Disease severity investigation and pathogen identification of corynespora leaf fall disease of Heava brasiliensis in Hainan province. Chin J Trop Agric 28(05):1–7

    Google Scholar 

  16. Yang G (2006) Rubber-grain intercropping system in Gabo. World Trop Agric Inf 6:1–2

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Bertin C, Yang X, Weston LA (2003) The role of root exudates and allelochemicals in the rhizosphere. Plant Soil Tillage Res 256(1):67–83

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Narwal SS, Hoagland RE, Dilday RH, Roger MR (2000) Allelopathy in ecological agriculture and forestry. Springer Science and Business Media, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  19. Singh H, Batish DR, Kohli R (2001) Allelopathy in agroecosystems: an overview. J Crop Prod 4(2):1–41

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Devi M (2017) Allelopathy in agroforestry: a review. J Pharmacogn Phytochem 6(3):686

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Vivanco JM, Baluška F (2012) Secretions and exudates in biological systems. Springer Science and Business Media, New York

    Google Scholar 

  22. Zeng RS, Mallik AU, Luo SM (2008) Allelopathy in sustainable agriculture and forestry. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  23. Cereda M, Mattos M (1996) Linamarin: the toxic compound of cassava. J Venom Anim Toxins 2(1):06–12

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Ferraro V, Piccirillo C, Tomlins K, Pintado ME (2016) Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) and Yam (Dioscorea spp.) crops and their derived foodstuffs: safety, security and nutritional value. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 56(16):2714–2727

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. He CW, Chen YP, Qin JP, Chen ZY (2011) Preliminary tests for chemical components of cassava's stems, peels and leaves. Lishizhen Med Mater Med Res 22(4):908–909

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Li SS, Dai HF, Zhao YX, Zuo WJ, Li XN, Mei WL (2012) Chemical constituents from the stems of cassava (Manihot Esculenta) in Hainan. J Trop Subtrop Bot 20(2):197–200

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Liu H, Huang J, Liu Z, Yunze R, Yang J (2016) Antifungal effects of extracts of the cassava organ on Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense in banana. J Yunnan Agric Univ (Nat Sci) 31(03):556–561

    Google Scholar 

  28. Chaparro JM, Sheflin AM, Manter DK, Vivanco JM (2012) Manipulating the soil microbiome to increase soil health and plant fertility. Biol Fertil Soils 48(5):489–499

    Google Scholar 

  29. Silva W, Deverall B, Lyon B (1998) Molecular, physiological and pathological characterization of Corynespora leaf spot fungi from rubber plantations in Sri Lanka. Plant Pathol 47(3):267–277

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. John J, Patil R, Joy M, Nair A (2006) Methodology of allelopathy research: I. Agroforestry systems. Allelopathy J 18(2):173

    Google Scholar 

  31. Elisante F, Tarimo MT, Ndakidemi PA (2013) Allelopathic effect of seed and leaf aqueous extracts of Datura stramonium on leaf chlorophyll content, shoot and root elongation of Cenchrus ciliaris and Neonotonia wightii. Am J Plant Sci 4:2332–2339

    Google Scholar 

  32. Ercisli S, Esitken A, Turkkal C, Orhan E (2005) The allelopathic effects of juglone and walnut leaf extracts on yield, growth, chemical and PNE compositions of strawberry cv. Fern. Plant Soil Environ 51(6):283–287

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Rejila S, Vijayakumar N (2011) Allelopathic effect of Jatropha curcas on selected intercropping plants (green chilli and sesame). J Phytol 3(5):1–3

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Han X, Cheng Z, Meng H, Yang X, Ahmad I (2013) Allelopathic effect of decomposed garlic (Allium sativum L.) stalk on lettuce (L. sativa var. crispa L.). Pak J Bot 45(1):225–233

    Google Scholar 

  35. Souto X, Gonzales L, Reigosa M (1994) Comparative analysis of allelopathic effects produced by four forestry species during decomposition process in their soils in Galicia (NW Spain). J Chem Ecol 20(11):3005–3015

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. He B, Gu M, Kang L, Lu Q (2014) A solution culture method for cassava seedling. CN 10358337 A [P], pp 2–19

  37. Tawaraya K, Hashimoto K, Wagatsuma T (1998) Effect of root exudate fractions from P-deficient and p-sufficient onion plants on root colonisation by the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Gigaspora margarita. Mycorrhiza 8(2):67–70

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Rinez A, Daami-Remadi M, Ladhari A, Omezzine F, Rinez I, Haouala RJAJMR (2013) Antifungal activity of Datura metel L. organic and aqueous extracts on some pathogenic and antagonistic fungi. Afr J Microbiol Res 16:1605–1612

    Google Scholar 

  39. Cheng W, Zhang Q, Coleman DC, Carroll CR, Hoffman CA (1996) Is available carbon limiting microbial respiration in the rhizosphere? Soil Biol Biochem 28(10–11):1283–1288

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. He K, Huang Z (1987) Rubber tree cultivation in the northern margin of tropic. Guangdong Science and Technology Press, Guangzhou

    Google Scholar 

  41. Li KY, Huang J, Lu X, Yan Q, Zhang Z, Yang B, Liu X, Huang W (2007) Regulation of cassava cultivation [S]. DB/T105-2007. Hainan Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision, Haikou

  42. Lu R (2000) Analysis Methods of Soil Agricultural Chemistry, vol 107. China Agricultural Science Technology Press, Beijing, pp 147–150

    Google Scholar 

  43. Guan S (1986) Soil enzymes and their research methodology. Agriculture Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  44. Ch QIAN (1999) Microbiology experiment methodology. Peking University Press, Beijing

    Google Scholar 

  45. Williamson GB, Richardson D (1988) Bioassays for allelopathy: measuring treatment responses with independent controls. J Chem Ecol 14(1):181–187

    Google Scholar 

  46. Wu YH, Tian XH, Tong YA, Nan XX, Zhou M, Hou YH (2010) Assessment of integrated soil fertility index based on principal components analysis [J]. Chin J Ecol 29:173–180

    Google Scholar 

  47. Muzell Trezzi M, Vidal RA, Balbinot Junior AA, von Hertwig Bittencourt H, da Silva Souza Filho AP (2016) Allelopathy: driving mechanisms governing its activity in agriculture. J Plant Interact 11(1):53–60

    Google Scholar 

  48. Song W, Jia J, Yun X (2010) Allelopathy mechanism of fresh celery root extracts on cucumber Fusarium oxysporum: spore morphology and growth change after fresh celery root extracts treatment. J Inner Mong Agric Univ (Nat Sci Ed) 31(3):100–105

    Google Scholar 

  49. Liu S, Lv X (2014) Study on the inhibition effects of aqueous extracts from jinxiang garlic straw on Botrytis cinerea of cucumber. J Jining Univ 35(6):5–10

    Google Scholar 

  50. Qi Y (2008) Study on synergistic effect of root allelochemical and pathogen in the replant disease of strawberry (Fragaria ananassa Duch.). Hebei Agriculture University, Hebei

    Google Scholar 

  51. Liu G, Yang Q, Li L, SUN J (2008) Intercropping advantage and contribution of above and below ground interactions in wheat maize intercropping. Plant Ecol 32:477–484

    Google Scholar 

  52. Acosta-Martínez V, Zobeck T, Gill T, Kennedy A (2003) Enzyme activities and microbial community structure in semiarid agricultural soils. Biol Fertil Soils 38(4):216–227

    Google Scholar 

  53. Schippers B, Bakker AW, Bakker PA (1987) Interactions of deleterious and beneficial rhizosphere microorganisms and the effect of cropping practices. Annu Rev Phytopathol 25(1):339–358

    Google Scholar 

  54. Ilieva-Makulec K, Olejniczak I, Szanser M (2006) Response of soil micro-and mesofauna to diversity and quality of plant litter. Eur J Soil Biol 42:S244–S249

    Google Scholar 

  55. Ma H, Xu J, Zheng C, Sun X, Shu H (2011) Effects of continuous cropping system on the soil physical-chemical properties and biological properties of Gerbera jamesonii. Sci Agric Sin 44(18):3733–3740

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Wang ZG, Jin X, Bao XG, Li XF, Zhao JH, Sun JH, Christie P, Li L (2014) Intercropping enhances productivity and maintains the most soil fertility properties relative to sole cropping. PLoS One 9(12):e113984

    Google Scholar 

  57. Wang Y, Wang H (2008) Research advance on allelopathy of continuous cropping plantation. World For Res 4:25–30

    Google Scholar 

  58. Larsonde RA (2013) Introduction to floriculture. Academic Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  59. Xia H, Wang L, Jiao N, Mei P, Wang Z, Lan Y, Chen L, Ding H, Yin Y, Kong W (2019) Luxury absorption of phosphorus exists in maize when intercropping with legumes or oilseed rape—covering different locations and years. Agronomy 9(6):314

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. Yap VY, Xaphokhame P, de Neergaard A, Bech Bruun T (2019) Barriers to agro-ecological intensification of smallholder upland farming systems in lao PDR. Agronomy 9(7):375

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  61. Xia H, Wang L, Xue Y, Kong W, Xue Y, Yu R, Xu H, Wang X, Wang J, LIU Z (2019) Impact of increasing maize densities on agronomic performances and the community stability of productivity of maize/peanut intercropping systems. Agronomy 9(3):150

    Google Scholar 

  62. Xu H, Bi H, Gao L, YUN L (2019) Alley cropping increases land use efficiency and economic profitability across the combination cultivation period. Agronomy 9(1):34

    Google Scholar 

  63. Goh Y, Marzuki N, Liew Y, GOH K (2018) Antagonistic effects of fungicolous ascomycetous Cladobotryum Semicirculare on Rigidoporus Microporus white root disease in rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis) under in vitro and nursery experiments. J. Rubb. Res. 21(1):62–72

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by funds from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31560374) and the Earmarked Fund for China Agriculture Research System (CARS-33).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, People’s Republic of China

    Zifan Liu, Peipei Liu & Xiaowei Ma

  2. Rubber Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Danzhou Investigation and Experiment Station of Tropical Crops of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Danzhou, 571737, Hainan, People’s Republic of China

    Feng An, Linlin Cheng & Xiaowei Ma

  3. School of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Ting Yun

Authors
  1. Zifan Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Peipei Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Feng An
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Linlin Cheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ting Yun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Xiaowei Ma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Methodology: ZL, PL, and FA; investigation: ZL, PL, and XM; writing—original draft preparation: ZL, FA, TY, and LL; writing—review and editing: FA, TY, and XM; Funding acquisition: ZL and FA.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Feng An.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The founding sponsors played no role in study design, data collection, data interpretation, manuscript writing, or decision to submit the manuscript.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liu, Z., Liu, P., An, F. et al. Effects of cassava allelochemicals on rubber tree pathogens, soil microorganisms, and soil fertility in a rubber tree–cassava intercropping system. J Rubber Res 23, 257–271 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42464-020-00055-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42464-020-00055-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation