Effect of the cereal-legume intercropping on Phosphatases and Phytase activity under alkaline soil.

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of intercropping systems cereals (Durum/hard Wheat)-legume (Cicer arietinum) on phosphorus (P) acquisition, pH soil variation, and the variation in enzymatic activity, through root-induced processes in semi-arid soil of South Tunisia. Split plot experiments with triplicate repetitions were carried out in southern Tunisia during two years of field (2020–2021 and 2021–2022). These comprise mono-crop chickpea (CK) and mono-crop durum wheat/ wheat durum (DW/WD), durum wheat intercropping (DW-C), and chickpea intercropping (CK-C). At the complete vegetation stage of durum wheat and chickpea, three soil samples were carried in layer surface for each experimental plot. For the analyses of soil, the P total, Olsen-P, phytase, acid phosphatases, and pH were carried out in the experiment. The obtained findings show a significant amelioration in P total contents in DW-C by 28% and 26% to DW, and 94% and 93% than BS during the two years of field experiment (2020–2021 and 2021–2022) respectively. Furthermore, the Study reported an increase of Olsen-P in the rhizosphere of DW-C by around 5%, 42% than DW, and 36%, 65% to bulk soil (BS) during the two-year experiment. Likewise, these results revealed an increase in A-Phase rates in the DW-C rhizosphere during the two agricultural seasons (2020–2021 and 2021–2021), of approximately 26%, 8% than DW and 33%, 67% than BS respectively. As well as the phytase activity indicated an increase in the DW-C rhizosphere by 67% and 69% than in BS and only by 8% and 7% than in DW for the two seasons (2020–2021 and 2021–2021). Indeed, the rhizosphere acidification of rhizosphere was found very much high in CK-C (0.63 pH units and 0.55 units lower than in the BS).