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The relationship between soil texture and the degree of apple replant disease (ARD) was analyzed from the perspective of the microbial community structure and diversity within the rhizosphere soil of Malus hupehensis Rehd. seedlings. Three different textured soils were taken from different apple orchards in Laizhou, Yantai. The soils were divided into two parts, one was kept in replanted conditions, and the other was fumigated with methyl bromide to act as a high standard control. The strength of ARD occurrence was examined by measuring fresh and dry weight suppression (%) of the M. hupehensis seedlings. Differences in the fungal community structure (especially in Fusarium) among the three soil texture types were analyzed using high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that replanted loam clay soil had the highest fungal diversity, followed by sandy loam soil and finally loam soil. The richness of fungi between soil textures, however, was not significantly different. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Fusarium was 1.96%, 0.78%, and 10.89% in replanted sandy loam, replanted loam soil, and replanted loam clay soil, respectively. Moreover, the gene copy number of Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani, and the inhibition rate of fresh weight of M. hupehensis seedlings were the same in the three soil textures. The plant height, photosynthesis (net) (Pn), and stomatal conductance (g S) of the M. hupehensis seedlings were significantly less in the replanted soil compared with the control treatments, with the overall difference being greatest in replanted loam clay soil, followed by replanted sandy loam and then replanted loam soil.
Apple replant disease (ARD) has been reported in all major fruit-growing regions of the world and is often caused by biotic factors (pathogen fungi) and abiotic factors (phenolic compounds). Soil chemical fumigation can kill soil pathogenic fungi; however, the traditionally used fumigant methyl bromide has been banned because of its ozone-depleting effects. There is thus a need to identify greener fumigant candidates. We characterized the effects of different fumigants on the replanted soil environment and the growth characteristics of Malus hupehensis Rehd. seedlings. All five experimental treatments [treatment 1 (T1), metham-sodium; treatment 2 (T2), dazomet; treatment 3 (T3), calcium cyanamide; treatment 4 (T4), 1,3-dichloropropene; and treatment 5 (T5), methyl bromide] promoted significantly the biomass, root growth, and root respiration rate of M. hupehensis seedlings and the ammonium nitrogen (NH4 +-N) and nitrate nitrogen (NO3 –-N) contents of replanted soil. Metham sodium (T1) and dazomet (T2) had stronger effects compared with 1,3-dichloropropene (T4) and calcium cyanamide (T3). At 172 days after T1, the height, root length, and root respiration rate of Malus hupehensis Rehd. seedlings, and the NH4 +-N and NO3 –-N contents of replanted soil increased by 91.64%, 97.67%, 69.78%, 81.98%, and 27.44%, respectively, compared with the control. Thus, dazomet and metham sodium were determined to be the optimal fumigants for use in practical applications.