Abstract
Plastic mulching (PM) is widely used in modern agriculture because of its advantageous effects on soil temperature and water conservation, factors which strongly influence the microbiology of the soil. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of PM on mycotoxin occurrence in relation with mycobiome abundance/diversity and soil physicochemical properties. Soil samples were collected from green (GA) and white asparagus (WA) crops, the last under PM. Both crops were cultivated in a ridge–furrow–ridge system without irrigation. Samples were analyzed for mycotoxin occurrence via liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS). Total colony-forming unit was indicative of mycobiome abundance, and analysis of mycobiome diversity was performed by internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing. PM avoided the drop of soil temperature in winter and allowed higher soil temperature in early spring compared to non-covered soil. Moreover, the use of PM provided controlled conditions for water content in soil. This was enough to generate a dissimilar mycotoxin occurrence and mycobiome diversity/abundance in covered and non-covered soil. Mycotoxin soil contamination was confirmed for deoxynivalenol (DON), range LOD to 32.1 ng/g (LOD = 1.1 ng/g). The DON values were higher under PM (average 16.9 ± 10.1 ng/g) than in non-covered soil (9.1 ± 7.9 ng/g); however, this difference was not statically significant (p = 0.09). Mycobiome analysis showed a fungal compartment up to fivefold higher in soil under PM compared to GA. The diversity of the mycobiome varied between crops and also along the soil column, with an important dominance of Fusarium species at the root zone in covered soils.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Accinelli C, Abbas HK, Zablotowicz RM, Wilkinson JR (2008) Aspergillus flavus aflatoxin occurrence and expression of aflatoxin biosynthesis genes in soil. Can J Microbiol 54:371–379
Altschul SF, Lipman DJ (1990) Protein database searches for multiple alignments. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 87:5509–5513
Blandino M, Pilati A, Reyneri A, Scudellari D (2010) Effect of maize crop residue density on fusarium head blight and on deoxynivalenol contamination of common wheat grains. Cereal Res Commun 38:550–559
Buyer JS, Teasdale JR, Roberts DP, Zasada IA, Maul JE (2010) Factors affecting soil microbial community structure in tomato cropping systems. Soil Biol Biochem 42:831–841
Edel-Hermann V, Gautheron N, Mounier A, Steinberg C (2015) Fusarium diversity in soil using a specific molecular approach and a cultural approach. J Microbiol Methods 111:64–71
El-Banna AA, Scott PM, Lau PY, Sakuma T, Platt HW, Campbell V (1984) Formation of trichothecenes by Fusarium solani var. coeruleum and Fusarium sambucinum in potatoes. Appl Environ Microbiol 47:1169–1171
Elmholt S, Hestbjerg H (1999) Field ecology of the ochratoxin A-producing Penicillium verrucosum: survival and resource colonisation in soil. Mycopathologia 147:67–81
Espí E, Salmerón A, Fontecha A, García Y, Real AI (2006) Plastic films for agricultural applications. J Plastic Film Sheeting 22:85–102
Fan L, Roux V, Dube C, Charlebois D, Tao S, Khanizadeh S (2012) Effect of mulching systems on fruit quality and phytochemical composition of newly developed strawberry lines. Agric Food Sci 21:132–140
Gan Y, Siddique KHM, Turner NC, Li X-G, Niu J-Y, Yang C, Liu L and Chai Q (2013) Ridge-furrow mulching systems—an innovative technique for boosting crop productivity in semiarid rain-fed environments. In: Sparks DL (ed) Advances in agronomy, vol 118., pp 429–476
Ganter A, Montalba R, Rebolledo R, Vieli L (2013) Plastic mulch effects on ground beetle communities (Coleóptera: Carabidae) in an organic blueberry field (Coleóptera: Carabidae) en un huerto de arándanos bajo manejo orgánico Idesia (Arica, vol 31., pp 61–66
Garcia-Cela E, Crespo-Sempere A, Gil-Serna J, Porqueres A, Marin S (2015) Fungal diversity, incidence and mycotoxin contamination in grapes from two agro-climatic Spanish regions with emphasis on Aspergillus species. J Sci Food Agric 95:1716–1729
Gosar B, Baricevic D (2011) Incorporation of a ridge-furrow-ridge rainwater harvesting system with mulches in high-value plant production. Irrig Drain 60:518–525
Gossmann M, Scholz A, Hennig F, von Bargen S, Buttner C (2011) Evaluation of the pathogenicity of Fusarium oxysporum and F. proliferatum isolates from asparagus using a modified in vitro quick test method. Gesunde Pflanzen 63:175–182
Goswami RS, Dong Y, Punja ZK (2008) Host range and mycotoxin production by Fusarium equiseti isolates originating from ginseng fields1. Can J Plant Pathol 30:155–160
Ham JM, Kluitenberg G, Lamont W (1993) Optical properties of plastic mulches affect the field temperature regime. J Am Soc Hortic Sci 118:188–193
Hestbjerg H, Nielsen KF, Thrane U, Elmholt S (2002) Production of trichothecenes and other secondary metabolites by Fusarium culmorum and Fusarium equiseti on common laboratory media and a soil organic matter agar: an ecological interpretation. J Agric Food Chem 50:7593–7599
Horn BW (2003) Ecology and population biology of aflatoxigenic fungi in soil. J Toxicol Toxin Rev 22:351–379
Kasirajan S, Ngouajio M (2012) Polyethylene and biodegradable mulches for agricultural applications: a review. Agron Sustain Dev 32:501–529
Kolpin DW, Schenzel J, Meyer MT, Phillips PJ, Hubbard LE, Scott TM, Bucheli TD (2014) Mycotoxins: diffuse and point source contributions of natural contaminants of emerging concern to streams. Sci Total Environ 470:669–676
Lamont WJ (2005) Plastics: modifying the microclimate for the production of vegetable crops. Horttechnology 15:477–481
Leong S-l, Hocking A, Pitt J, Kazi B, Emmett R, Scott E (2006) Black Aspergillus species in Australian vineyards: from soil to ochratoxin A in wine. In: Hocking AD, Pitt JI, Samson R, Thrane U (eds) Advances in food mycology, 571st edn. US, Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology. Springer, pp 153–171
Li X-Y, Gong J-D (2002) Effects of different ridge:furrow ratios and supplemental irrigation on crop production in ridge and furrow rainfall harvesting system with mulches. Agric Water Manag 54:243–254
Li Y-S, Wu L-H, Lu X-H, Zhao L-M, Fan Q-L, Zhang F-S (2006) Soil microbial biomass as affected by non-flooded plastic mulching cultivation in rice. Biol Fertil Soils 43:107–111
Madgwick J, West J, White R, Semenov M, Townsend J, Turner J, Fitt BL (2011) Impacts of climate change on wheat anthesis and fusarium ear blight in the UK. Eur J Plant Pathol 130:117–131
Mantle PG (2000) Uptake of radiolabelled ochratoxin A from soil by coffee plants. Phytochemistry 53:377–378
Melloy P, Aitken E, Luck J, Chakraborty S, Obanor F (2014) The influence of increasing temperature and CO2 on Fusarium crown rot susceptibility of wheat genotypes at key growth stages. Eur J Plant Pathol 140:19–37
Miller PM, Waggoner P (1963) Interaction of plastic mulch, pesticides and fungi in the control of soil-borne nematodes. Plant Soil 18:45–52
Mortensen GK, Strobel BW, Hansen HCB (2003) Determination of zearalenone and ochratoxin A in soil. Anal Bioanal Chem 376:98–101
Mortensen GK, Strobel BW, Hansen HCB (2006) Degradation of zearalenone and ochratoxin A in three Danish agricultural soils. Chemosphere 62:1673–1680
Norstadt FA, McCalla TM (1968) Microbially induced phytotoxicity in stubble mulched soil. Soil Sci Soc Am Proc 32:5
Paterson RRM, Lima N (2010) How will climate change affect mycotoxins in food? Food Res Int 43:1902–1914
Roncero MIG, Hera C, Ruiz-Rubio M., Garcıamp x a Maceira FI, Madrid MP, Caracuel Z, Calero F, Delgado-Jarana J, Roldán R, guez R, Martınez-Rocha AL, Velasco C, Roa J, n-Urdiroz M, Córdoba D and Di Pietro A (2003) Fusarium as a model for studying virulence in soilborne plant pathogens. Physiol Mol Plant Pathol 62:87–98
Ruidisch M, Kettering J, Arnhold S, Huwe B (2013) Modeling water flow in a plastic mulched ridge cultivation system on hillslopes affected by South Korean summer monsoon. Agric Water Manag 116:204–217
Sabburg R, Obanor F, Aitken E, Chakraborty S (2015) Changing fitness of a necrotrophic plant pathogen under increasing temperature. Glob Chang Biol 21:3126–3137
Schenzel J, Forrer HR, Vogelgsang S, Hungerbuhler K, Bucheli TD (2012a) Mycotoxins in the environment: I. Production and emission from an agricultural test field. Environ Sci Technol 46:13067–13075
Schenzel J, Hungerbuehler K, Bucheli TD (2012b) Mycotoxins in the environment: II. Occurrence and origin in Swiss river waters. Environ Sci Technol 46:13076–13084
Schmidt-Heydt M, Magan N, Geisen R (2008) Stress induction of mycotoxin biosynthesis genes by abiotic factors. FEMS Microbiol Lett 284:142–149
Schmidt-Heydt M, Parra R, Geisen R, Magan N (2011) Modelling the relationship between environmental factors, transcriptional genes and deoxynivalenol mycotoxin production by strains of two Fusarium species. J R Soc Interface 8:117–126
Schonbeck MW, Evanylo GK (1998) Effects of mulches on soil properties and tomato production I. Soil temperature, soil moisture and marketable yield. J Sustain Agric 13:55–81
Seefelder W, Gossmann M, Humpf HU (2002) Analysis of fumonisin B-1 in Fusarium proliferatum-infected asparagus spears and garlic bulbs from Germany by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. J Agric Food Chem 50:2778–2781
Stapleton JJ (2000) Soil solarization in various agricultural production systems. Crop Prot 19:837–841
Steyn PS (1976) Austamide, a new toxic metabolite from Aspergillus ustus. Tetrahedron Lett 36:4
Tarara JM (2000) Microclimate modification with plastic mulch. Hortscience 35:169–180
Valero A, Farre JR, Sanchis V, Ramos AJ, Marin S (2006) Effects of fungal interaction on ochratoxin A production by A. carbonarius at different temperatures and a(w). Int J Food Microbiol 110:160–164
Waskiewicz A, Golinski P, Karolewski Z, Irzykowska L, Bocianowski J, Kostecki M, Weber Z (2010a) Formation of fumonisins and other secondary metabolites by Fusarium oxysporum and F. proliferatum: a comparative study. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess 27:608–615
Waskiewicz A, Irzykowska L, Bocianowski J, Karolewski Z, Kostecki M, Weber Z, Golinski P (2010b) Occurrence of Fusarium fungi and mycotoxins in marketable asparagus spears polish. J Environ Stud 19:219–225
Waskiewicz A, Irzykowska L, Bocianowski J, Karolewski Z, Weber Z, Golinski P (2013) Fusariotoxins in asparagus—their biosynthesis and migration. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess 30:1332–1338
Weber Z, Kostecki M, Bargen S, Gossmann M, Waskiewicz A, Bocianowski J, Knaflewski M, Buttner C and Golinski P (2006) Fusarium species colonizing spears and forming mycotoxins in field samples of asparagus from Germany and Poland. J Phytopathol 154:209–216
Webster R (2007) Interpreting soil test results: what do all the numbers mean? - by P. Hazelton & B. Murphy. Eur J Soil Sci 58:1219–1220
White TJ, Bruns T, Lee S, Taylor J (1990) Amplification and direct sequencing of fungal ribosomal RNA genes for phylogenetics. PCR Protocols Guide Methods Applications 18:315–322
Zhou L-M, Li F-M, Jin S-L, Song Y (2009) How two ridges and the furrow mulched with plastic film affect soil water, soil temperature and yield of maize on the semiarid Loess Plateau of China. Field Crop Res 113:41–47
Zhu L, Liu JL, Luo SS, Bu LD, Chen XP, Li SQ (2015) Soil mulching can mitigate soil water deficiency impacts on rainfed maize production in semiarid environments. J Integr Agric 14:58–66
Acknowledgments
The authors want to thank the financial support by the Ministry for Education, Sciences, Further Education and Culture of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate (MBWWK) and by the Prof B. Gedek and W. Gedek foundation. Moreover, we want to thank the personnel of the experimental field Queckbrunnerhof in Schifferstadt for sharing their expertise on asparagus cultivation.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
K. Muñoz and M. Schmidt-Heydt contributed equally to this work.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Muñoz, K., Schmidt-Heydt, M., Stoll, D. et al. Effect of plastic mulching on mycotoxin occurrence and mycobiome abundance in soil samples from asparagus crops. Mycotoxin Res 31, 191–201 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-015-0231-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12550-015-0231-9