Objective Physical and chemical means of disinfection were applied on soil to determine the effects on the fungal community in the rhizosphere as well as the growth of Lilium ‘Conca d'Or’ under continuous cropping.
Methods The rhizosphere soil was disinfected with hot water, dazomet, or alcohol. Illumina Miseq sequencing was employed to determine the structure and abundance of the rhizosphere fungal community before and after the treatments. Effect of the treatments on the growth of Lilium seedlings was observed.
Result The hot water treatment was best for the growth of Lilium seedlings, while dazomet delayed it. A total of 472,440 ITS sequences were obtained from the 3 treatment and one control samples. They were divided into 410 operational taxa (OTUs) at a 97% similarity. The species and relative abundance of fungi in the soils varied among the samples and changed during the growth and development of the plants. Ascomycete was the most dominant flora in all samples. Both treatments of hot water and dazomet exerted the most significant effects on pathogens such as root fungus and penicillium. As indicated by the abundance cluster analysis, flora dominance altered significantly in 3 development stages, and the community structure in the treatment soils differed significantly from control.
Conclusion Disinfection by either hot water or dazomet could effectively improve the fungal community structure in the Lilium rhizosphere soil. Dazomet was an effective chemical disinfectant which significantly inhibited fungal growth in general at the early stage after the application. Therefore, to maximize the desired final result it was highly recommended that beneficial bacteria be added following the disinfecting treatment.
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