Improvement in Continuous Cropping of Cut Chrysanthemum by Phanerochaete Chrysosporium

Cut chrysanthemum is one of the most popular cut flowers in the world. However, its production tends to fall dramatically because of continuous cropping. This reduced production may be due to the accumulation of phenolic acids secreted by the plant root and deposited in the soil. In this study, the chlamydospore of Phanerochaete chrysosporium was used to test the degradation ability of four phenolic acids after being inoculated into C. morifolium rhizosphere that has been monocultured for 5 years. The degradation rate of ferulic acid, syringic acid, vanillic acid, and p-hydroxybenzoic acid increased to 94.0%, 78.8%, 84.2%, and 81.4%, respectively, in comparison with CK. At the same time, urease content in the soil was augmented, which could effectively help in stimulating the nitrogen cycle. The fungi amount in the treatment group decreased in comparison with CK, whereas the bacteria content in the treatment group increased evidently by 3.00 and 1.76 times the control group content. The physiological status of plants improved after 120 days of cultivation, thereby illustrating that P. chrysosporium exerts a positive effect on addressing the issue of continuous cropping soil.