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Development of a defined compost system for the study of plant-microbe interactions
Masters-Clark, E. Shone, E. Paradelo, M. Hirsch, P. R. Clark, I. M. Otten, W. Brennan, Fiona Mauchline, T. H.
Masters-Clark, E.
Shone, E.
Paradelo, M.
Hirsch, P. R.
Clark, I. M.
Otten, W.
Brennan, Fiona
Mauchline, T. H.
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2020-05-05
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Masters-Clark, E., Shone, E., Paradelo, M. et al. Development of a defined compost system for the study of plant-microbe interactions. Sci Rep 10, 7521 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64249-0
Abstract
Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria can improve plant health by providing enhanced nutrition,
disease suppression and abiotic stress resistance, and have potential to contribute to sustainable
agriculture. We have developed a sphagnum peat-based compost platform for investigating plantmicrobe
interactions. The chemical, physical and biological status of the system can be manipulated
to understand the relative importance of these factors for plant health, demonstrated using three
case studies: 1. Nutrient depleted compost retained its structure, but plants grown in this medium
were severely stunted in growth due to removal of essential soluble nutrients - particularly, nitrogen,
phosphorus and potassium. Compost nutrient status was replenished with the addition of selected
soluble nutrients, validated by plant biomass; 2. When comparing milled and unmilled compost, we
found nutrient status to be more important than matrix structure for plant growth; 3. In compost
defcient in soluble P, supplemented with an insoluble inorganic form of P (Ca3(PO4)2), application of
a phosphate solubilising Pseudomonas strain to plant roots provides a signifcant growth boost when
compared with a Pseudomonas strain incapable of solubilising Ca3(PO4)2. Our fndings show that the
compost system can be manipulated to impose biotic and abiotic stresses for testing how microbial
inoculants infuence plant growth.