Intercropping wheat alleviated soil acidification and suppressed Fusarium wilt of faba bean

Modern high input-based intensive cropping systems often lead to accumulation of phenolic acids in the soil which promote the development of soil diseases. While this can be suppressed by intercropping. This research assessed the impact of intercropping on Fusarium wilt from the perspective of soil acidification under cinnamic acid and Fusarium commune stress.

The treatments were not inoculated with F. commune, while the faba beans were inoculated with this pathogen. Infected plants were also treated with cinnamic acid. The development of wilt, together with seedling dry weight, soil chemical properties, soil enzymes, soil amino acids, microbial diversity, and the community structure and composition from monocropping and intercropping systems, were investigated.

Under the combined stress of cinnamic acid and F. commune, relative to monocropping, intercropping with wheat increased the soil pH value, reduced most of the soil amino acid contents, increased bacterial community diversity, and modified the community structures and compositions of bacteria and fungi, increased the abundance of both Sphingomonas and radyrhizobium and reduced Fusarium and increased soil enzyme activities and nutrient; moreover, it promoted plant growth, and reduced the disease index.

Intercropping alleviated soil acidification and suppressed faba bean’s Fusarium wilt following F. commune infection and cinnamic acid stress.