Biostimulatory effect of vermicompost extract enhances soil mycorrhizal activity and selectively improves crop productivity

Abstract Purpose Commercial production and the use of liquid vermicompost extract (LVE) is gaining attention as a technique that supports integrated soil-microbial-crop management for sustainable agriculture. However, interaction effects LVE, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), host plants on delivery agroecosystem services in alkaline soil have been less studied. Methods We carried out 3-year field experiment Central Italy, to investigate short-term effect LVE inoculum potential (MIP), AMF root colonization, productivity berseem clover, lentil, sunflower. produced different years were screened microbial properties using Illumina Miseq sequencing. was applied at seeding, crop stem elongation flowering stages. Control crops received water placebo. Results bacterial communities more diverse showed higher turnover between 2019 2020 than fungal communities. Diverse groups, majority which belonged phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Mucoromycota, detected, including N-fixers ( Flavobacterium , Malikia, Citrobacter ), P-solubilizers Pseudomonas C-degraders Tolumonas Arcobacter Mucor ). Notably, treatment enhanced MIP colonization most crops, but selectively improved shoot biomass clover (+ 32%) sunflower 34%), grain yield 37%) oil concentration 5%) sunflower, compared corresponding non-treated controls. Conclusions had groups bacteria few taxa, its application selected growth- yield-related variables This could be due LVE’s biostimulating arising from vermicompost-associated microbiome biomolecules.