Enhancing N use Efficiency, Increasing Wheat Yield and Reducing Chemical Fertilizer Dependence via Beneficial Bacteria

作者：Muhammad Shaaban, Aneela Younas, Mirza Abid Mehmood, Zhaoyong Shi, Xiaoling Wang · 发表于：Rice · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1186/s12284-025-00849-6 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics、Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis、Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism

Rising food demand has led to heavy use of chemical fertilizers, which are costly and pose serious threats to soil health and the environment. This two-year field study evaluated whether integrating beneficial bacteria with reduced nitrogen (N) fertilizer could improve soil health, wheat productivity, and N use efficiency (NUE), thereby reducing dependence on chemical N inputs. Nine treatments were tested, including combinations of no N (CK), 50% (N50) and 100% (N100) recommended N rates, with or without soil application and seed inoculation using beneficial bacteria (SAB and SIB). Results demonstrated that seed inoculation with beneficial bacteria (particularly N50 + SIB and N100 + SIB) significantly enhanced soil ammonium and nitrate contents, microbial biomass carbon (MBC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and soil enzyme activities at critical growth stages compared to uninoculated controls. These improvements in soil health translated into better plant physiological functioning, evidenced by increased chlorophyll content, higher antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT, POD, SOD, GSH), and reduced membrane injury. Consequently, beneficial bacteria inoculated treatments improved N accumulation and translocation efficiencies, with N100 + SIB showing the highest N accumulation at maturity and its contribution to grain. Grain N content and 1000-grain weight were substantially improved with bacterial treatments, with N100 + SIB achieving a 15-20% increase in protein content and the ...