Microbiome–metabolome interaction reveals rhizosphere ecological, bioactive, and antioxidant responses of Paeonia lactiflora Pall. to intercropping and harvest timing

Description

Peony root is a valued medicine, and how the plant is grown and when it is picked shape its strength. Shuaiwen Yin, Cheng Jing, Caiying Dai, Xinjie Zhou, Jiahao Ai, and Huimin Sun profiled the microbes and small molecules in the soil hugging peony roots. They compared plants grown alone with those intercropped with other species, across several harvest times.

One bacterial group, Proteobacteria, dominated the soil, and a fungus group led on its side. The chemistry of the roots split clearly by growing style and timing, with fats and plant-defense compounds among the biggest movers. Grown alone and picked late, the roots gave the best medicine quality. Intercropped plants did best picked mid-season, with the exact week adjusted to the year's weather.

Catalog record

Source: https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13582199