Organic farming has become more prevalent in recent years as consumer demand for organic food and fiber has rapidly grown. Until recently, organic fertilizers and soil amendments have largely been based on the practices of returning crop residues, manures and related agricultural wastes back to crop production areas. One rapidly growing segment in commercial organic fertilizer development is the use of spent microbial biomass (SMB) from industrial fermentation processes. While SMB is widely accepted in many organic farming systems (OFS), little is known concerning the effectiveness, environmental impact, and influence on prokaryotic communities in soils receiving this treatment. In this study, a comparative analysis of bacterial communities associated with OFS and conventional farming systems was performed over a growing season for a field containing yellow dent corn (Zea mays). A statistically significant increase in microbial population α-diversity, along with a strong recruitment of Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria populations, was observed in soils treated with SMB when compared to areas in the field that utilized conventional farmer practices. These phyla are members of the copiotrophic subgroup, and considered a signature for the use of traditional organic fertilizers. These results provide valuable new information that SMB functions similarly to traditional organic fertilizers in promoting a high level of functional prokaryotic diversity and plant growth-promoting bacteria, but in contrast do not contribute directly to viable microorganisms in the soil due to the sterilization of SMB prior to land application.

近年来，随着消费者对有机食品和纤维的需求迅速增长，有机耕种变得越来越普遍。直到最近，有机肥料和土壤改良剂仍主要基于将农作物残留物，肥料和相关的农业废弃物返回农作物生产地区的做法。商业有机肥料开发的一个快速增长的领域是使用工业发酵过程中产生的废微生物生物量（SMB）。尽管SMB在许多有机耕作系统（OFS）中已被广泛接受，但对于其有效性，环境影响以及对接受这种处理的土壤中原核生物群落的影响知之甚少。在这个研究中，玉米（Zea mays）。与使用常规农民做法的田间地区相比，在用SMB处理过的土壤中观察到了微生物种群α多样性的统计学显着增加，同时也大量招募了变形杆菌和放线菌。这些门是营养型亚组的成员，被认为是使用传统有机肥料的标志。这些结果提供了有价值的新信息，即SMB在促进高水平的功能性原核生物多样性和植物生长细菌方面具有与传统有机肥料相似的功能，但相反，由于SMB的灭菌作用，它不能直接对土壤中的活微生物产生作用。土地申请。