An integrated microbiological analysis of the soil and rhizosphere of Agave spp. under minimum technological input farming systems

The expansion of arid and semi-arid regions, consequent to the intensification of desertification processes attributable to global warming, exerts a deleterious effect on agricultural production of energy crops, thereby precipitating crises in these sectors. Agave species have the capacity to thrive in these marginal environments characterized by aridity and elevated temperatures. These plants can serve as a source of biomass for the production of biofuels, a process that mitigates the environmental impacts of the transport sector while promoting the utilization of marginalized areas, thereby eliminating competition with food crops. Given the paucity of knowledge regarding the soil microbiota and rhizosphere in minimal technological input Agave plantations, the objective of this study was to evaluate the microbiome of Agave sisalana and Agave hybrids (H11648 and H400f) farming systems. The analyses, which were carried out using microbial quantification, enzyme stoichiometry and enzymatic vector calculations, demonstrated that the microbiome of these plants is active and well-structured. It was observed that the Agave fields microbiome is very similar to that of the native vegetation. This finding suggests that the soil and rhizosphere microbiota are healthy and stable even in agronomic Agave fields, as the chemical analysis of the soil reveals that all measured parameters are consistent with those of soils suitable for crop production. These observations persist even in long-established Agave plantations of varying ages that have never received any type of implement or soil correction. Thus, the integration of the chemical and biological data through principal component analysis (PCA) enabled the differentiation of the soil among the three Agave species, which shows the influence of the plant genotype on its microbiota.