Filtered mud improves sugarcane growth and modifies the functional abundance and structure of soil microbial populations

Abstract

Background Exploring high-quality organic amendments has been a focus of sustainable agriculture. Filtered mud (FM), a sugar factory waste derived from sugarcane stems, could be an alternative organic amendment for sugarcane production. However, the effects of its application proportions on soil fertility, nutrient cycling, structure of soil bacterial and fungal communities, and the growth of sugarcane in clay-loam soils remain unexplored. Methods Three application proportions of FM: (FM1-(FM: Soil at 1:4), FM2-(FM: Soil at 2:3), and FM3-(FM: Soil at 3:2)) were evaluated on sugarcane growth and soil nutrient cycling. High throughput sequencing was also employed to explore soil microbial dynamics. Results We observed that FM generally increased the soil’s nutritional properties while improving NO3− retention compared to the control, resulting in increased growth parameters of sugarcane. Specifically, FM1 increased the concentration of NH4+−N, the N fraction preferably taken up by sugarcane, which was associated with an increase in the plant height, and more improved growth properties, among other treatments. An increase in the proportion of FM also increased the activity of soil nutrient cycling enzymes; urease, phosphatase, and β-glucosidase. High throughput sequencing revealed that FM reduced the diversity of soil bacteria while having insignificant effects on fungal diversity. Although increasing FM rates reduced the relative abundance of the phyla Proteobacteria, its class members, the Gammaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria containing some N-cycling related genera, were stimulated. Also, FM stimulated the abundance of beneficial and lignocellulose degrading organisms. These included the bacterial phyla Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, and the fungal phylum Ascomycota. The distribution of the soil microbial community under FM rates was regulated by the changes in soil pH and the availability of soil nutrients. Since FM1 showed more promise in improving the growth properties of sugarcane, it could be more economical and sustainable for sugarcane production in clay-loam soils.

Studying the Efficacy of Some Organic Compounds as a Source of Potassium Fertilization and their Effect on the Wheat-Peanut Crop System in Sandy Soil

“…Zein El-Abdeen's [25] study results show that applying different organic amendments (yeast waste, seaweed extract, or filter mud) enhanced soil organic matter content and some macronutrient availability after harvesting wheat and peanut plants. This increase could be attributed to the presence of carboxylate groups, which have a direct effect on nutrients released into the soil soil [12,13] and a variety of organic acids are produced during organic residue decomposition [33], which mobilize nutrients from fixed sites and make them easily available to plants [34]. According to De Sosa et al [35], adding composted materials with the greatest ratio of seaweed to the control marginally raised pH values.…”

“…It is a dark brown to brown, fragile, spongy, amorphous material that regulates sugar, fibre, coagulated colloids (such as cane wax), albuminoids, inorganic ions, and dirt particles. In addition, it contains hormones, vitamins, auxins, enzymes, and plant development regulators that help to keep agricultural soils productive, fertile, and healthy [11,12]. Additionally, filter cake has been used as a biofertilizer and was reported by Ali et al [13] to positively influence soil biochemical and physical parameters and plant development.…”

Sustained organic amendments utilization enhances ratoon crop growth and soil quality by enriching beneficial metabolites and suppressing pathogenic bacteria

“…Correspondingly, an increasing number of reports have shed light on the importance of FM application in agriculture as a vital source of major plant nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ( Barry et al., 2001 ; Shaaban et al., 2022 ). Few studies have also documented the impacts of FM on soil microbial community and abundance ( Abubakar et al., 2022 ). We recently reported that FM utilization significantly promoted Anabaena and Enterobacter .…”