High-density apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) orchards yield fruits as early as three years after planting but nutrient inputs and availability are paramount to a successful orchard; sustainable practices that balance tree growth and production with environmental concerns are not widely available. In this three-year study, we implemented a split-plot design in three orchards across the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA to evaluate integrated soil management approaches that combine locally sourced carbon-based organic mulch with fertilizers on rhizosphere microbes and tree growth. Bacterial and fungal communities were sampled at the end of the first and third growing seasons in addition to soil and tree-related physicochemical properties. Mulch treatment showed the most significant effect on both the bacterial and fungal groups. Most of these changes reflect the increase in soil organic matter and the increase in carbon cycling. Sequence variants belonging to Flavobacteria and Cytophaga were enriched by the mulch application. A key result from this project is the suppression of the relative abundance of potential soil-borne plant fungal pathogens in all orchards in all years. Additionally, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi were enriched under the mulch treatment. Microbial shifts accompanying the mulch treatments supported higher trunk cross-sectional areas by the third sampling year that increased by 33.5%. Fertilizer treatments had less pronounced effects on microbial communities. These results highlight the potential for using sustainable, integrated nutrient management strategies to promote healthy orchard soils and support vigorous tree growth while reducing fungal pathogens. Our work will contribute to regional and location-specific fertilizer recommendations for apple producers.
Sharaf et al. (Sun,) studied this question.