Prospects of alleviating early planting‐associated cold susceptibility of soybean using microbes: New insights from microbiome analysis

Abstract

Cold susceptibility is a concern when growing crops of tropical origin in temperate regions. Crops such as rice, corn, sorghum, and soybean are generally susceptible to chilling stress. From production standpoint, a crop's cold tolerance is particularly important when the general recommendation is to adopt earlier than currently practicing planting dates in the spring. Early planting is a potential route to increase soybean yield in the United States. Nonetheless, early planting is often not practically feasible due to low soil temperatures. Although some commercial varieties are cold‐tolerant, soybean is generally prone to cold stress. Soil temperatures below 10°C reduce germination and seedling vigour. Cold temperatures can also increase soybean vulnerability to soilborne seed/seedling diseases. Microorganisms are experimentally shown to alleviate cold stress in agriculturally important crops such as rice, wheat, tomato and grapes. Although microbial inoculants are available to augment soybean yields through enhanced nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization and improved water/nutrient uptake, currently there are no commercially available inoculants to enhance soybean cold tolerance. Here we provide insights into the value of soybean rhizosphere microbiome analysis to identify microbial taxa that could potentially enhance soybean cold tolerance. Formulation of promising candidates into a seed treatment could contribute to early planting‐enabled soybean yield gains.

Characterization of the growth promotion and defense enhancement of soybean plants driven by seed treatment of multiple soybean-associated beneficial bacteria

“…In our study, microbial communities associated with soybean growth had a dense microbial network structure which signifies a more complex interaction in the rhizosphere. Other studies reported that microbial network complexity characterizes the high-yield sites compared with the low-yield sites of soybean in the field (91). A non-random co-occurrence pattern inferred in the microbial network interaction indicates that seed treatment strains interact cooperatively with other key species.…”

“…In our study, microbial communities associated with soybean growth had a dense microbial network structure which signifies a more complex interaction in the rhizosphere. Other studies reported that microbial network complexity characterizes the high-yield sites compared with the low-yield sites of soybean in the field (91).…”

Twice-Split Phosphorus Application Alleviates Low Temperature Stress by Improving Root Physiology and Phosphorus Accumulation, Translocation, and Partitioning in Wheat

“…Although the global average temperature is increasing yearly and many studies have been conducted on the effects of high temperatures on crop production, the frequency and intensity of low temperature (LT) stress are undoubtedly increasing [5,6]. As a result, researchers in many nations have started to shed light on the influence of LT stress on the yield of crops, mainly the frequency and intensity of LT stress, which has had a significant impact on wheat production in Europe, North America, and China [7][8][9].…”

Soybean Response to Seed Coating with Chitosan + Alginate/PEG and/or Inoculation

“…Soybean is a thermophilic plant, therefore the seeds are sown in warm soil to avoid low temperature stress. It is assumed that soil temperature below 10 • C adversely affects seed germination [3]. In turn, excessively delayed sowing may result in a decrease in yields, especially when drought occurs [4].…”