Understand soil resilience to improve tree health
Lead Research Organisation:
CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY
Department Name: School of Water, Energy and Environment
Abstract
Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.
People |
ORCID iD |
| Xiangming Xu (Primary Supervisor) |
Publications
Cook C
(2023)
Effect on microbial communities in apple orchard soil when exposed short-term to climate change abiotic factors and different orchard management practices.
in Journal of applied microbiology
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BB/S507167/1 | 30/09/2018 | 29/09/2022 | |||
| 2146486 | Studentship | BB/S507167/1 | 30/09/2018 | 29/09/2022 |
| Description | We have shown a limited effect on the above-ground establishment in field and semi-field conditions due to each of the biological amendments we applied. Effect of the amendments if any also appeared to be cultivar specific ie. Pseudomonas fluorescens was only correlated with increased girth expansion in Gala trees and not for Braeburn trees. We also did not find any benefit in applying amendments in consortia rather than individually. We suggest that planting trees in the inter-rows (alleyways) between successive generations can be an effective strategy to manage apple replant disease and also noted rootstocks closer related to the previous generation were more severely affected by replant in the previous tree stations. Short-term exposure of apple orchard bulk soil to climate change conditions was most influenced by the management system (organic vs conventional) but it was noted that there was a marked (but not significant) impact of the two climate conditions investigated on bacterial and fungal diversity. It is therefore unlikely from the results of the work that substantial shifts in the rhizosphere community would occur due to short-term exposure to elevated CO2 and temperature alone (for example, during a hot summer in the UK). |
| Exploitation Route | Growers can make decisions on the best cultural practices to adopt (such as rootstock genotype selection and planting position) as a low economic impact management strategy for apple replant disease. More research needs to be conducted to optimise the strains, application and efficacy of biological soil amendments for apple replant disease management. Additional trials using the cultural practices alongside amendment are being conducted at NIAB, East Malling to see the combined effect of both management strategies. |
| Sectors | Agriculture Food and Drink |