HUBEI AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES ›› 2026, Vol. 65 ›› Issue (7): 32-42.doi: 10.14088/j.cnki.issn0439-8114.2026.07.007

• Resource & Environment • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of intercropping dandelion on soil fertility, enzyme activities, and microbial community structure in apple orchards

TIAN Qi, WU Jin-shui, LI Tian, XI Ming-pan, ZHANG Ding-jun, HU Chun-yan, CAO Hui   

  1. College of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, Shanxi, China
  • Received:2026-01-12 Online:2026-07-25 Published:2026-07-23

Abstract: To elucidate the regulatory effects of orchard intercropping dandelion(Taraxacum mongolicum Hand.-Mazz.) on the soil micro-ecological environment and system vitality, this study was conducted in an apple orchard in Qingcheng County, Qingyang City, Gansu Province. Clean cultivation (CK) and intercropping dandelion (PGY) treatments were established, and soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activities, and microbial community characteristics were systematically determined. The results showed that from the young fruit stage to post-harvest, the available phosphorus and readily available potassium contents in the clean cultivation plot exhibited a significant decreasing trend; in the intercropping plot, the readily available potassium content exhibited a significant decreasing trend, whereas the total nitrogen, total phosphorus, alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen, available phosphorus, and organic matter contents all exhibited significant increasing trends compared with those at the young fruit stage. Intercropping dandelion effectively maintained the relative stability of the activities of key soil enzymes, including catalase, urease, and acid phosphatase. Microbial community analysis revealed that intercropping dandelion effectively maintained the relative stability of bacterial and fungal community richness (ACE and Chao1 indices) in the orchard soil, significantly promoted the proliferation of beneficial microbial groups such as Schizothecium, and suppressed the enrichment of potentially soil-borne pathogenic genera such as Leptosphaeria and Volutella. The Mantel test and correlation analysis indicated that soil readily available nutrients and enzyme activities were the key environmental factors driving the succession of microbial communities. In summary, intercropping dandelion effectively alleviated the risks of soil functional degradation and continuous cropping obstacles caused by long-term clean cultivation by ameliorating rhizosphere hydrothermal conditions, continuously supplying exogenous organic matter, and broadening microbial niches.

Key words: intercropping dandelion, apple orchard, soil fertility, enzyme activity, microorganism, community structure

CLC Number: