Yield and nitrogen use efficiency jointly shape the soil microbial community and networks of pitaya orchards in Hainan, China

Microorganism is a pivotal contributor to soi health, with extensive research focusing on the impacts nitrogen (N) addition on microbial communities. However, few studies have delved into how microbial community and networks respond to the combined effects of yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), which are vital indicators for sustainable agriculture balancing productivity and environmental concerns. The investigate the microbial community and networks in relation to healthy soil under sustainable agricultural practice, we collected sixty soil samples were collected from six typical pitaya orchards in Hainan province. The results showed that the MC orchard exhibited higher yield, NUE and microbial diversity despite lower soil fertility, while LiC orchard had higher nutrient content but lower yield, NUE and microbial diversity compared to others. High NUE showed positive correlations with yield and microbial diversity, but negative associations with soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), and available potassium (AK). Soil bacterial networks in high-yield orchards displayed greater complexity, whereas fungal networks exhibited increased stability in highlow-yield groups. Nutrient inputs varied among yield-NUE groups, with high yields and efficiencies promoting higher bacterial diversity but showing no significant impacts on fungal diversity. The composition of bacterial community composition significantly differed between high yield and high efficiency (HH) and low yield and low efficiency (LL) groups, while fungal communities remained relatively stable. Our results highlight that implementing optimal practice can enhance not only pitaya fruit productivity and nutrient uptake, but also improve the soil microbial community and network complexity. This enhancement has the potential to fortify the soil-plant-microorganism interactions, thereby playing a crucial role in improving soil health and promoting sustainable agriculture.