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Interactions Between High Load of a Bio-based and Biodegradable Plastic and Nitrogen Fertilizer Affect Plant Biomass and Health: A Case Study with Fusarium solani and Mung Bean (Vigna radiata L.)
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High loads of a bio-based biodegradable plastic mulch film combined with nitrogen fertilizer affected mung bean biomass and increased susceptibility to the soil pathogen Fusarium solani, suggesting that biodegradable plastic residues in agricultural soil can interact with nutrient management to harm crop health. The study calls for caution in assuming biodegradable mulches are without agricultural risk.
Abstract Bio-based and biodegradable plastics such as mulching films are widely used in agricultural field sites. However, there are limited studies of their impact on plant development and health even though an important soil-borne plant pathogen F . solani has been reported to associate with various types of bio-based and biodegradable plastics, especially polybutylene succinate-co-adipate (PBSA). To evaluate the influence of PBSA amendment in soils on plant development and health, F. solani and mung bean ( V. radiata ) were used as models in a modified petri-dish test using soil suspensions. Mung bean seeds were incubated in suspensions with two dilutions (high vs. low dilution with low vs. high PBSA amendment) of soils pre-incubated 1 year with PBSA under different treatments (combinations of N fertilizer (ammonium sulfate) and PBSA load) in the modified petri dish test . Plant development and disease incidence were recorded with both microscopic and molecular techniques (specific PCR and Illumina amplicon sequencing). Treatment with PBSA and N fertilizer in non-sterile soil suspensions strongly increased the disease caused by F. solani on V . radiata at both low and high soil dilution. At high soil dilution, the F. solani disease incident was 67.5% while at the low dilution the disease incidence reached 92.5%. In contrast, in treatments PBSA but without N fertilizer, non F. solani disease was observed. Apart from F. solani infection, other soil fungi can also infect the mung bean seedlings, especially at low soil dilution levels. Nevertheless, based on this short-term study, we found no evidence that PBSA alone can significantly increase the overall disease incidence.
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