Soilborne diseases are a major constraining factor to soil health and plant health in potato production. In the toolbox of crop management, soil amendments have shown benefits to control these diseases and improve soil quality. Most amendments provide nutrients to plants and suppress multiple soilborne pathogens. Soil amendments are naturally derived materials and products and can be classified into fresh or living plants, organic or inorganic matters, and microbial supplements. Fresh plants have unique functions and continuously exude chemicals to interact with soil microbes. Organic and inorganic matter contain high levels of nutrients, including nitrogen and carbon that plants and soil microorganisms need. Soil microorganisms, whether being artificially added or indigenously existing, are a key factor in plant health. Microbial communities can be considered as a biological reactor in an ecosystem, which suppress soilborne pathogens in various mechanisms and turn soil organic matter into absorbable forms for plants, regardless of amendment types. Therefore, soil amendments serve as an energy input, nutrient source, and a driving force of microbial activities. Advanced technologies, such as microbiome analyses, make it possible to analyze soil microbial communities and soil health. As research advances on mechanisms and functions, amendment-based strategies will play an important role in enhancing soil health and disease suppression for better potato production.

The fungus Monilinia vaccinii-corymbosi (Mvc) causes mummy berry disease in blueberries including lowbush blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium, and is a significant pathogen of concern for Maine lowbush blueberry growers. This disease is typically managed with fungicides or by burning of plant debris containing overwintering pseudosclerotia. The population structure of Mvc in various fields in Maine was investigated using microsatellites and isolates collected from three stages in the Mvc lifecycle. The impacts of management strategies were also examined. A high level of genetic diversity was observed in Mvc from 12 lowbush blueberry fields with 199 unique multilocus haplotypes (MLHs) occurring in an original sample of 232 isolates. Twelve private alleles, including six private alleles with frequencies above 0.05, which indicated gene flow, were observed in six out of 12 fields. The population of Mvc in Maine as a whole is mostly a sexual, outcrossing population, as was seen in the diversity of MLHs and low amounts of linkage disequilibrium, although some apothecia appear to result from selfing. Three fields appear to have some clonal reproduction but were not strictly clonal, as multiple MLHs were noted in these fields. Management does not appear to affect population structure, and Mvc may be one large statewide population in Maine.

Potato crop management can have substantial impacts on soil health, particularly through practices such as intensive tillage and short crop rotations. This study investigated the impacts of different management practices on soil microbial communities, including rotation length, non-grain rotation crops, green manures, compost amendments, and a soil fumigant using two potato varieties, ‘Caribou Russet’ and ‘Russet Burbank’. Bacterial and fungal communities were characterized from soil samples using amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) of the 16S rRNA and internal transcribed spacer rDNA regions, respectively. Initially, no significant differences were detected between microbial communities; however, after 4 years, significant differences were found. Overall, fungi demonstrated greater sensitivity to management practices than bacteria, with fumigation and compost amendment having the largest impacts on microbial communities. Fumigation resulted in a decrease in the abundance of certain fungal groups, particularly saprotrophs or unidentified fungi. Alternatively, the two largest groups of fungi more abundant in fumigated soils were saprotrophs or plant pathogens. Compost amendment led to substantial increases in fungal diversity, with over 3.5 times more differentially abundant fungal ASVs identified compared with soils without compost. Within these more abundant fungal ASVs in compost-amended soils, plant pathogens made up only 4%, whereas in soils without compost, plant pathogens made up 25% of the most abundant ASVs. In general, compost appeared to positively impact soil microbial communities, and fumigation appeared to negatively impact them. The results of this study could aid farmers in crop management decisions that improve soil health, reduce disease, and increase yields. [ ] Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .

Background and Aims Improved soil health can enhance plant resilience against diseases, boost nutritional fertility, prevent erosion, and improve crop yields. However, certain agricultural practices can negatively impact soil health, as observed in potato production, which commonly involves intensive tillage, short crop rotations, and control of soilborne diseases. Methods The impact of management practices on soil health and potato yields over four years was examined through six management factors: rotation length, non-grain rotation crops, green manures, compost amendments, soil fumigation, and potato variety. Relationships between soil properties, potato yields, and management practices were evaluated statistically. Results Five soil health metrics were significantly related to management factors and yields: organic matter, total organic carbon, zinc, Olsen phosphorus, and copper. Compost amendment increased potato yields, organic carbon, organic matter, and zinc. In contrast, rotation length negatively affected yield, organic matter, phosphorus, copper, and zinc, although this conflicts with previous research and could be related to environmental factors or study length. Other management factors were not significantly related to yield nor these five soil health metrics. Conclusion Compost amendment and rotation length were found to be the most important management practices in altering soil properties and potato yields. While long-term effects were not explored in this study, these results may aid farmers in developing crop management plans to improve soil health and increase yields.