Effects of combined application of earthworm castings and microbial agents on the physicochemical properties and microbial community of continuous cropping soil of honey melon
MA Fengjie
YANG Chunyin
WANG Zhenlong
ZHANG Jing
SHI Zhiguo
Abstract：To address the issues of soil organic matter deficiency,nutrient imbalance,and reduced microbial diversity caused by long-term continuous monocropping in the Minqin melon cultivation area,this study utilized environmentally friendly and efficient vermicompost and microbial agents to investigate their synergistic effects on soil physicochemical properties and microbial community structure.The results showed that increasing the application of vermicompost signifi-cantly enhanced soil organic matter and microbial nitrogen content,reduced soil bulk density,and improved soil structure,while microbial carbon content exhibited an initial increase followed by a decrease.Co-occurrence network analysis of the microbial community revealed that Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria were the key bacterial phyla,whereas Ascomyco-ta dominated the fungal community.Alpha-diversity analysis indicated that the 2×vermicompost treatment significantly in-creased both bacterial and fungal diversity compared to the 0.5 × treatment.Although melon yield did not significantly vary with vermicompost application rate,the combination of 3× vermicompost with EM agent significantly improved fruit quality.In conclusion,the combined application of 3 × vermicompost and EM agent effectively optimizes the soil micro-ecological environment and enhances melon quality,providing a theoretical basis for ecological melon cultivation in the Minqin region.
Keywords：Honeydew melonEarthworm castingMicrobial agentPhysicochemical propertyMicrobial community structure
Publication Date：2025-12-05
Online Publishing Date：2026-01-05(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：11( 77-87 )