Loading...

Effect of different tillage methods on the structure and dynamics of fungal microbiota of Chernozems in Krasnodar Krai, Russia


Citation :- Effect of different tillage methods on the structure and dynamics of fungal microbiota of Chernozems in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. Res. Crop. 26: 698-706
GYRNETS ELENA YURIEVNA, PONOMAREV ARTEM VASILIEVICH, KREMNEVA OKSANA YURIEVNA, DUBYAGA VALENTINA MICHAYLOVNA AND ASATUROVA ANZHELA MICHAYLOVNA alena_fox95@mail.ru
Address : Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution «Federal Research Center of Biological Plant Protection» (FSBSI FRCBPP), Krasnodar, Russia
Submitted Date : 6-11-2025
Accepted Date : 4-12-2025

Abstract

Communities of soil fungi play a crucial role in maintaining crop health, and tillage methods can disrupt the balance between pathogenic and beneficial fungi. On the highly fertile chernozem soils of the Krasnodar Territory (southern Russia), traditionally cultivated by deep ploughing, the effect of reduced tillage on the soil mycobiota remains unclear. This study aims to meet the need for local data on how the lack of tillage and minimal tillage affect soil fungi compared to conventional ploughing. Field experiments were conducted during two winter wheat growing seasons (2023-2024 and 2024-2025) at the Federal Research Center for Biological Plant Protection in the Krasnodar Territory. Four tillage methods were evaluated: dump ploughing, combined tillage, minimal tillage and no tillage. Soil samples were collected at key stages (before sowing, spring vegetative growth, and after harvesting) and analysed for the number of fungal colonies and community composition (identification of saprotrophic and pathogenic fungi at the genus level). Saprotrophic fungi Penicillium and Aspergillus predominated in all soils (up to 80% of the total number of colonies), which indicates a high decomposition activity. However, the number of pathogenic fungi of the genus Fusarium increased markedly with zero and minimal tillage, reaching up to 10-15% of the fungal community by spring, compared with lower levels (up to 5%) with dump and combined tillage. Trichoderma antagonist fungi showed the opposite trend: their populations were higher in ploughed and combined areas than in untreated ones. These results suggest that traditional and combined tillage can more effectively suppress soil pathogens in the short term, while zero or minimal tillage may require additional measures, including the use of biocontrol tools to maintain soil health.

Keywords

Chernozem soils Fusarium soil fungi tillage Trichoderma winter wheat


References

Babal, B., Sharma, M. K. and Phogat, V. K. (2022). Effect of pendimethalin herbicide on Azotobacter and PSB population in soil during crop growth under conventional and zero tillage. Crop Res. 57: 237-44.
Chen, H., Dai, Z., Veach, A. M., Zheng, J., Xu, J. and Schadt, C. W. (2020). Global meta-analyses show that conservation tillage practices promote soil fungal and bacterial biomass. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 293: doi:10.1016/j.agee.2020.106841.
Conte, E. D., Dal Magro, T., Dal Bem, L. C., Dalmina, J. C., Matté, J. A., Schenkel, V. O. and Schwambach, J. (2022). Use of Trichoderma spp. in a no-tille system: effects on soil and crop performance. Appl. Soil Ecol. 174: doi:10.1016/j.biocontrol.2022.104941
Domnariu, H., Trippe, K. M., Partal, E., Botez, F. and Postolache, C. (2025). Long-term impact of tillage on microbial communities of an Eastern European Chernozem. Environ. Res. 243: doi:10.1038/s41598-024-84590-y.
Gao, M., Li, H. and Li, M. (2022). Effect of no-tillage system on soil fungal community in Mollisol of Northeast China: a case study. Front. Microbiol. 13doi:10.3389/fmicb.2022. 847691.
Jayaraman, S., Naorem, A. K., Lal, R., Dalal, R. C., Sinha, N. K., Patra, A. K. and Chaudhari, S. K. (2021). Disease-suppressive soils—beyond food production: A critical review. J. Soil Sci. Plant Nutr. 21: 1437–65.
Labad Ryma , Mohammedi Zekari, Echcherki Smain, Beldi Yasmine, Bounedjar Abdelwahab, Chachoua Abdelfetah, Kebir Khadidja, Kerimi Hamid, Tayeb Hamani, Ryma, Taibi Sabrina And Feddal Mohamed Amine (2023). Effect of tillage practices on durum wheat (Triticum durum) productivity under semi-arid climatic conditions. Farm. Manage. 8: 14-20.
Levi, M., Applebaum, I., Sherman, C., Doniger, T. and Steinberger, Y. (2022). Soil fungal community of wheat (Triticum aestivum) shows strong seasonal shifts across growth stages. Rhizosphere 22: doi:10.1016/j.rhisph.2022.100605.
Lupwayi, N. Z., Khanal, N., Richards, M. and Ortega Polo, R. (2024). The soil microbial impacts of integrating perennial forage seed crops in annual cropping sequences. SSRN e-Library Book. doi:10.2139/ssrn.4974502.
Moreno, G., Hernández-Esteban, A., Rolo, V. and Igual, J. M. (2021a). The enduring effects of sowing legume-rich mixtures on the soil microbial community and soil carbon in semi-arid wood pastures. Plant Soil 465: 563–82.
Moreno, M. V., Casas, C., Biganzoli, F., Manso, L., Silvestro, L. B., Moreira, E. and Stenglein, S. A. (2021b). Cultivable soil fungi community response to agricultural management and tillage system on temperate soil. J. Saudi Soc. Agric. Sci. 20: 217–26.
Naumova, N. B., Barsukov, P.B., Baturina, O., Rusalimova, O. and Kabilov, M. R. (2022). Soil mycobiome diversity under different tillage practices in the south of West Siberia. Microorganisms 10: doi:10.3390/life12081169.
Netrusov, A. I. and Kotova, I. B. (2025). Microbiology: Theory and Practice. Yurait, Moscow. pp: 676. (in Russian).
Pinchuk, I. P., Tkhakakhova, A. K., Tomashevich, N. S., Gyrnets, E. Y., Sidorov, N. M., Ksenofontova, N. A., Zverev, A. O., Nikitin, D. A., Stakheev, A. A., Gao, X.,  Astakhov, M. M., Asaturova, A. M. and Semenov, M. V. (2025). Efficacy of biofungicides based on Bacillus against apple scab (Venturia inaequalis) and their influence on rhizosphere fungal communities. Rhizosphere 34doi:10.1016/j.rhisph.2025.101056.
Sairam, M., Maitra, S., Raghava, C. V., Krishna, T. G., Gaikwad, D. J., Sahoo, U. and Ray, S. (2023). Efficient crop residue management under conservation agriculture for improving soil quality: A review. Farm. Manage. 8: 59-71.
Slyusarev, V. N., Shvets, T. V. and Osipov, A. V. (2022). Pochvy Krasnodarskogo kraya [Soils of Krasnodar Krai]. KubGAU, Krasnodar. pp: 260. (in Russian)
Todorović, I., Moënne-Loccoz, Y., Raičević, V., Jovičić-Petrović, J. and Muller, D. (2023). Microbial diversity in soils suppressive to Fusarium diseases. Front. Plant Sci. 14: doi:10. 3389/fpls.2023.1228749.
Van Bruggen, A. H. C., He, M. M., Shin, K., Mai, V., Jeong, K. C., Finckh, M. R. and Morris, J. G. (2018). Environmental and health effects of the herbicide glyphosate. Sci. Total Environ. 616: 255–68.
Verrecchia, E. P. and Trombino, L. (2021). A visual atlas for soil micromorphologists. Springer Nature, Cham. pp: 177. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-67806-7.
Wang, Y., Xin, J., Song, W., Yu, W., Wu, Z. and Jin, Y. (2025). Effects of tillage practices in stover-return on endosphere and rhizosphere microbiomes. NPJ Sustain. Agric. 3: doi:10.1038/s44264-025-00099-5.
Wang, Y., Zheng, R., Dong, W., Gao, P. and Duan, T. (2024). Conservation agricultural practices increase soil fungal diversity in the Loess Plateau. Appl. Sci. 14doi:10.3390/ app14188411.
Watanabe, T. (2018). Pictorial atlas of soilborne fungal plant pathogens and diseases. CRC Press, Boca Raton. pp: doi:10.1201/b22340.
Yiallouris, A., Pana, Z. D., Marangos, G., Tzyrka, I., Karanasios, S., Georgiou, I., Kontopyrgia, K., Triantafyllou, E., Seidel, D., Cornely, O. A., Johnson, E. O., Panagiotou, S. and Filippou, C. (2024). Fungal diversity in the soil mycobiome: implications for One Health. One Health 18: doi:10.1016/j.onehlt.2024.100720.
Zhou, J., Li, Y., Lou, J., Wang, Y., Kan, Z., Neugschwandtner, R. W., Li, F., Liu., J., Dong and Xue, Y. (2024). Fungal Saprotrophic Promotion and Plant Pathogenic Suppression under Ditch-Buried Straw Return with Appropriate Burial Amount and Depth. Plants 13: doi:10.3390/ plants13131738.
 

Global Footprints