Soil MICRO

Soil Microbial Interactions with Crop Replacement Options (Soil MICRO) in the Mekong River Delta Vietnam is an ACIAR funded Small Research Activity (SLAM/2022/175). This project addresses three main objectives related to the effects of upland crops and associated soil managements on soil microbial communities which are highlighted below.

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Current research

Research themes

Upland crops impact on aerobic microbial processes

The introduction of upland crops and associated management practices has the potential to create different soil environments compared to traditional rice crops. This could affect soil microbial interactions and communities.

Salt tolerant Rhizobium

The identification and isolation of salt tolerant rhizobium may help improve the capacity of cowpea to effectively fix atmospheric nitrogen. This has the potential to reduce the dependance on fertiliser application.

Rice crop yield and flooding effects on microbial diversity

Growing rice in the following cropping cycle after an upland crop may affect microbial diversity through impacts of anerobic conditions. Upland crops, particularly legumes, may also have the potential to affect rice crop yields.

Current research

Cowpea is a salt tolerant legume that has successfully been grown in FOCUS field trials. Effective leguminous nitrogen fixation can potentially provide alternative soil nitrogen sources to inorganic fertilisers, in addition to a high energy crop alternative to rice. The team is currently investigating the effects of cowpea, mulching and biochar interactions on soil microbial communities. Samples are taken during the dry season, and at the end of the following anaerobic rice crop. Analysis of soil data includes qPCR of functional genes, DGGE, next gen sequencing, microbial biomass, nematode community composition and metabolic footprints.