Effects of Pueraria montana and Melastoma dodecandrum Intercropping on Soil and Tea Plant Growth in Terraced Tea Gardens: A Sustainable Agricultural Practice
Tea, a predominant economic crop in China, often thrives on terraced fields, but the long-term monoculture practiced in these terraced tea gardens has led to soil degradation, adversely affecting tea tree growth. Intercropping offers a sustainable solution, but its specific effects on soil and tea t...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS)
2025-02-01
|
| Series: | HortScience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/60/3/article-p426.xml |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850238273632337920 |
|---|---|
| author | Lingshan Shi Dongliang Li Shuaibo Shao Fajie Feng Qisong Li Fanfan Zeng Lingyuan Shi Jianming Zhang Yongcong Hong Pumo Cai |
| author_facet | Lingshan Shi Dongliang Li Shuaibo Shao Fajie Feng Qisong Li Fanfan Zeng Lingyuan Shi Jianming Zhang Yongcong Hong Pumo Cai |
| author_sort | Lingshan Shi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tea, a predominant economic crop in China, often thrives on terraced fields, but the long-term monoculture practiced in these terraced tea gardens has led to soil degradation, adversely affecting tea tree growth. Intercropping offers a sustainable solution, but its specific effects on soil and tea trees remain unclear. This study investigated the complex interactions between soil microorganisms, soil, and tea trees in two intercropping systems: tea/Pueraria montana var. culaishanensis (HWT) and tea/Melastoma dodecandrum Lour. (YP). The results showed that both intercropping modes significantly improved bud density, hundred-bud weight, and yield, thereby promoting tea tree growth. HWT significantly increased soil porosity, organic matter, available N, and available P in tea garden soils, while YP significantly increased soil porosity, organic matter, available P, and available K, all of which improved soil conditions. Both intercropping modes also affected the diversity and richness of bacterial communities and the community structure at the phylum level. Microbial co-occurrence network and topological characteristics analysis further indicated that the soil microbial community structure under intercropping was more intricate and tightly connected. Linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis demonstrated that beneficial microbial groups were significantly higher under both intercropping modes compared with monoculture tea plantations. Moreover, both intercropping modes promoted the C and N cycles in the soil, significantly enhancing microbial functions related to cellulolysis. In conclusion, both intercropping modes can promote tea tree growth, improve soil physical and chemical properties in tea gardens, increase beneficial microbial groups, and positively affect soil microbial community structure and function. However, HWT has a greater impact on functional microorganisms related to C and N cycles, especially N cycling. Therefore, intercropping with suitable slope-protection crops provides a potential solution for the sustainable development of terraced tea gardens, offering strong support for the construction of green and environmentally friendly tea gardens. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fe438e6728944ec18db51350d1f513fe |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2327-9834 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | HortScience |
| spelling | doaj-art-fe438e6728944ec18db51350d1f513fe2025-08-20T02:01:29ZengAmerican Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS)HortScience2327-98342025-02-01603https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI18366-24Effects of Pueraria montana and Melastoma dodecandrum Intercropping on Soil and Tea Plant Growth in Terraced Tea Gardens: A Sustainable Agricultural PracticeLingshan Shi0Dongliang Li1Shuaibo Shao2Fajie Feng3Qisong Li4Fanfan Zeng5Lingyuan Shi6Jianming Zhang7Yongcong Hong8Pumo Cai9College of Tea and Food Science, Wuyi University, Wuyishan 354300, ChinaCollege of Tea and Food Science, Wuyi University, Wuyishan 354300, China; and College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350007, ChinaCollege of Tea and Food Science, Wuyi University, Wuyishan 354300, ChinaCollege of Tea and Food Science, Wuyi University, Wuyishan 354300, ChinaCollege of Tea and Food Science, Wuyi University, Wuyishan 354300, ChinaCollege of Tea and Food Science, Wuyi University, Wuyishan 354300, ChinaBaihua Primary School, Wuyishan 354300, Fujian Province, ChinaCollege of Tea and Food Science, Wuyi University, Wuyishan 354300, ChinaCollege of Tea and Food Science, Wuyi University, Wuyishan 354300, ChinaCollege of Tea and Food Science, Wuyi University, Wuyishan 354300, ChinaTea, a predominant economic crop in China, often thrives on terraced fields, but the long-term monoculture practiced in these terraced tea gardens has led to soil degradation, adversely affecting tea tree growth. Intercropping offers a sustainable solution, but its specific effects on soil and tea trees remain unclear. This study investigated the complex interactions between soil microorganisms, soil, and tea trees in two intercropping systems: tea/Pueraria montana var. culaishanensis (HWT) and tea/Melastoma dodecandrum Lour. (YP). The results showed that both intercropping modes significantly improved bud density, hundred-bud weight, and yield, thereby promoting tea tree growth. HWT significantly increased soil porosity, organic matter, available N, and available P in tea garden soils, while YP significantly increased soil porosity, organic matter, available P, and available K, all of which improved soil conditions. Both intercropping modes also affected the diversity and richness of bacterial communities and the community structure at the phylum level. Microbial co-occurrence network and topological characteristics analysis further indicated that the soil microbial community structure under intercropping was more intricate and tightly connected. Linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis demonstrated that beneficial microbial groups were significantly higher under both intercropping modes compared with monoculture tea plantations. Moreover, both intercropping modes promoted the C and N cycles in the soil, significantly enhancing microbial functions related to cellulolysis. In conclusion, both intercropping modes can promote tea tree growth, improve soil physical and chemical properties in tea gardens, increase beneficial microbial groups, and positively affect soil microbial community structure and function. However, HWT has a greater impact on functional microorganisms related to C and N cycles, especially N cycling. Therefore, intercropping with suitable slope-protection crops provides a potential solution for the sustainable development of terraced tea gardens, offering strong support for the construction of green and environmentally friendly tea gardens.https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/60/3/article-p426.xmlintercroppingphysicochemical propertiessoil microbial communitytea/slope-protection crops |
| spellingShingle | Lingshan Shi Dongliang Li Shuaibo Shao Fajie Feng Qisong Li Fanfan Zeng Lingyuan Shi Jianming Zhang Yongcong Hong Pumo Cai Effects of Pueraria montana and Melastoma dodecandrum Intercropping on Soil and Tea Plant Growth in Terraced Tea Gardens: A Sustainable Agricultural Practice HortScience intercropping physicochemical properties soil microbial community tea/slope-protection crops |
| title | Effects of Pueraria montana and Melastoma dodecandrum Intercropping on Soil and Tea Plant Growth in Terraced Tea Gardens: A Sustainable Agricultural Practice |
| title_full | Effects of Pueraria montana and Melastoma dodecandrum Intercropping on Soil and Tea Plant Growth in Terraced Tea Gardens: A Sustainable Agricultural Practice |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Pueraria montana and Melastoma dodecandrum Intercropping on Soil and Tea Plant Growth in Terraced Tea Gardens: A Sustainable Agricultural Practice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Pueraria montana and Melastoma dodecandrum Intercropping on Soil and Tea Plant Growth in Terraced Tea Gardens: A Sustainable Agricultural Practice |
| title_short | Effects of Pueraria montana and Melastoma dodecandrum Intercropping on Soil and Tea Plant Growth in Terraced Tea Gardens: A Sustainable Agricultural Practice |
| title_sort | effects of pueraria montana and melastoma dodecandrum intercropping on soil and tea plant growth in terraced tea gardens a sustainable agricultural practice |
| topic | intercropping physicochemical properties soil microbial community tea/slope-protection crops |
| url | https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/60/3/article-p426.xml |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT lingshanshi effectsofpuerariamontanaandmelastomadodecandrumintercroppingonsoilandteaplantgrowthinterracedteagardensasustainableagriculturalpractice AT dongliangli effectsofpuerariamontanaandmelastomadodecandrumintercroppingonsoilandteaplantgrowthinterracedteagardensasustainableagriculturalpractice AT shuaiboshao effectsofpuerariamontanaandmelastomadodecandrumintercroppingonsoilandteaplantgrowthinterracedteagardensasustainableagriculturalpractice AT fajiefeng effectsofpuerariamontanaandmelastomadodecandrumintercroppingonsoilandteaplantgrowthinterracedteagardensasustainableagriculturalpractice AT qisongli effectsofpuerariamontanaandmelastomadodecandrumintercroppingonsoilandteaplantgrowthinterracedteagardensasustainableagriculturalpractice AT fanfanzeng effectsofpuerariamontanaandmelastomadodecandrumintercroppingonsoilandteaplantgrowthinterracedteagardensasustainableagriculturalpractice AT lingyuanshi effectsofpuerariamontanaandmelastomadodecandrumintercroppingonsoilandteaplantgrowthinterracedteagardensasustainableagriculturalpractice AT jianmingzhang effectsofpuerariamontanaandmelastomadodecandrumintercroppingonsoilandteaplantgrowthinterracedteagardensasustainableagriculturalpractice AT yongconghong effectsofpuerariamontanaandmelastomadodecandrumintercroppingonsoilandteaplantgrowthinterracedteagardensasustainableagriculturalpractice AT pumocai effectsofpuerariamontanaandmelastomadodecandrumintercroppingonsoilandteaplantgrowthinterracedteagardensasustainableagriculturalpractice |