Table6.docx

Peat based growing media are not ecologically sustainable and often fail to support biological control. Miscanthus straw was (1) tested to partially replace peat; and (2) pre-colonized with a Trichoderma strain to increase the biological control capacity of the growing media. In two strawberry pot trials (denoted as experiment I & II), extruded and non-extruded miscanthus straw, with or without pre-colonization with T. harzianum T22, was used to partially (20% v/v) replace peat. We tested the performance of each mixture by monitoring strawberry plant development, nutrient content in the leaves and growing media, sensitivity of the fruit to the fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea, rhizosphere community and strawberry defense responses. N immobilization by miscanthus straw reduced strawberry growth and yield in experiment II but not in I. The pre-colonization of the straw with Trichoderma increased the post-harvest disease suppressiveness against B. cinerea and changed the rhizosphere fungal microbiome in both experiments. In addition, defense-related genes were induced in experiment II. The use of miscanthus straw in growing media will reduce the demand for peat and close resource loops. Successful pre-colonization of this straw with biological control fungi will optimize crop cultivation, requiring fewer pesticide applications, which will benefit the environment and human health.

以泥炭（peat）为基质的栽培介质在生态层面不具备可持续性，且通常无法支撑生物防治工作。本研究以芒草秸秆（miscanthus straw）为研究对象，一方面测试其部分替代泥炭的可行性，另一方面将其预先定殖木霉菌（Trichoderma）菌株，以提升栽培介质的生物防治能力。在两项草莓盆栽试验（分别记为试验I与试验II）中，我们使用经挤压成型与未挤压成型的芒草秸秆，搭配预先定殖或不定殖哈茨木霉菌（T. harzianum）T22菌株的处理组，以20%体积比的比例部分替代泥炭。我们通过监测草莓植株生长发育情况、叶片与栽培介质的养分含量、果实对真菌病原菌灰葡萄孢（Botrytis cinerea）的敏感性、根际群落结构以及草莓的防御反应，来评估各基质混合物的综合性能。试验II中，芒草秸秆引发的氮固持作用降低了草莓的生长与产量，但该现象未出现在试验I中。经木霉菌预先定殖的秸秆可提升对采后灰葡萄孢病害的抑制效果，并在两项试验中均改变了根际真菌微生物组结构。此外，试验II中草莓的防御相关基因被诱导表达。在栽培介质中使用芒草秸秆，可降低对泥炭的需求并闭合资源循环。若能成功将该秸秆预先定殖具有生物防治功能的真菌，将优化作物栽培流程，减少农药施用频次，进而有益于环境与人类健康。