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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Auburn, Alabama » Soil Dynamics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #413496
Research Project: Agronomic and Engineering Solutions for Conventional and Organic Conservation Agricultural Systems in the Southeastern U.S.

Location: Soil Dynamics Research

Title: Integration of corn and forage-based beef productions improve plant beneficial soil microbial community

Author
item Adesemoye, Anthony
item WEI, H - Bowling Green State University
item KODATI, SRIKANTH - University Of Connecticut

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/11/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Corn production and forage-based beef production are major components of agricultural productions in the United States. Corn residue grazing and the impact of grazing on the subsequent year’s corn production is an underutilized integrative system that could be very beneficial to both sectors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a sustainable system involving corn and livestock production on the rhizosphere microbiome. The study was conducted in an existing 128-acre no-till, sprinkler irrigated, continuous corn experimental field in Nebraska with four treatments, 1) no residue removal, 2) light grazing, 3) heavy grazing, and 4) residue removal by baling. Each treatment was replicated twice for a total of eight pie-shaped, 16-acre paddocks, fenced during the grazing season to maintain cattle within the paddocks. Soil sampling was conducted in two random spots within each paddock, totaling four samples per treatment. Soil samples were analyzed for carbon (iv) oxide carbon, mineralizable N, and biomass carbon and were also sequenced on a paired-end Illumina HiSeq platform using primers for 16S rRNA and internal transcribed spacer region (ITS). Beneficial bacteria taxonomic groups, especially plant-growth promoting rhizobacteria, including Flavobacterium, Janthinobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Pseudomonas showed high relative abundance in light grazing and no residue removal. There was high soilborne pathogen populations in no residue removal. Overall, light grazing had the highest population of beneficial microbes and more supportive of plant health.