High intensity of Intraspecific Interaction Exacerbates Plant-Soil Negative Feedback in Panax notoginseng -bacterium

Negative plant-soil feedback (NPSF) occurs when plants grow in soil previously cultivated with the same species. Since NPSF is caused by unbalanced changes in soil microbiomes, which are modified by root exudates, we wanted to know whether NPSF can be affected by the intraspecific interactions of a high-density crop that produces more root exudates. In this study, we conoducted a two-stage plant-soil feedback experiment involving five crops (Triticum aestivum, Zea mays, Solanum lycopersicum, Cucumis sativus and Panox notoginseng) cultivated at variouos plant densities (30 x 30, 15 x 15, 10 x 10, and 8 x 8 in centimeters) to examine the impact of intraspecific interactions on NPSF and then the underlying mechanisms.