ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Crop and Product Physiology
This article is part of the Research TopicNanotechnology-Induced Modulation of Functional Traits and the Plant Microbiome for Enhanced Crop Stress ToleranceView all articles
Integration of Biochar and Bradyrhizobium japonicum Modulates Soil Physicochemical Properties and Microbial Community in Soybean Fields
Provisionally accepted
Sikandar Aziz1
Bi Yilong1Faizur Rehman2Muhammad Ibrahim3Syed Majid Rasheed4
Shahid Khan5
Chengyu Wang1*- 1College of Resources and Environment. Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China
- 2College of Agronomy. Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China
- 3College of Plant Protection, Jilin Agricultural University,, Changchun, China
- 4University of Agriculture Swat, Swat, Pakistan
- 5Universidade Federal da Grande Dourados Faculdade de Ciencias da Saude, Dourados, Brazil
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Declining soil fertility and reduced microbial diversity due to intensive farming threaten sustainable agriculture. This study aimed to assess the effects of B. japonicum inoculation and biochar amendment, applied individually and in combination, on soil properties, microbial communities, and soybean yield under field conditions in Jilin Province, China. A field experiment was established with four treatments: control (CK), B. japonicum alone (RH), biochar alone (CK2), and their combination (RHB). Observations were recorded at flowering (FS), seed-filling (SFS), and harvesting (HS) stages. Soil physicochemical properties, microbial diversity, and soybean yield were evaluated to determine treatment responses. The RHB treatment significantly improved soil fertility. Soil pH increased from 5.77 in CK to 6.20 in RHB, total nitrogen rose from 0.12% to 0.19%, and available phosphorus increased from 32.4 to 45.3 mg/kg. Available potassium and soil organic matter increased by 18.2% and 27.7%, respectively. Soybean yield was highest in RHB (3798 kg/ha) compared to CK (3158 kg/ha) and correlated strongly with total nitrogen (TN) (r = 0.84), nitrate nitrogen (r = 0.75), and available nitrogen (r = 0.67). Microbial analysis revealed enrichment of beneficial genera, including Pseudomonas and Beauveria, along with higher populations of nitrogen-cycling bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi, thereby enhancing nutrient cycling. B. japonicum inoculation combined with biochar significantly enhanced soil fertility, improved microbial diversity, and increased soybean yield, offering a sustainable strategy to strengthen soil health and productivity in intensive farming systems.
Keywords: biofertilizers, microbial inoculants, Nitrogen Fixation, rhizosphere, Soybean yield, soil fertility
Received: 12 Oct 2025; Accepted: 17 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Aziz, Yilong, Rehman, Ibrahim, Rasheed, Khan and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Chengyu Wang, chengyuw@jlau.edu.cn
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