Role of rhizosphere specific microbiome in enhancing soybean productivity across contrasting soil and crop management systems

Soybeans are a globally significant legume and oilseed crop with a diverse rhizospheric microbiome that can enhance sustainable agriculture by reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. These microbes can potentially impact plant growth and development through symbiotic (rhizobium and mycorrhizae) and non-symbiotic (plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria and fungi) interactions with soybean roots under optimal crop and soil management practices. During the production of soybeans, practices such as excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, mono-cropping, and intensive tillage are often employed to achieve higher yields. However, these practices can alter the rhizomicrobiome communities and their interactions with soybean crops. Implementing optimal soil and crop management techniques can create a more favorable environment for rhizomicrobial communication with soybean roots, ultimately enhancing nutrient uptake for the soybean plants. In this review, we address how the soil rhizomicrobiome communicates with soybean roots, its role in promoting plant health and yield, and approaches to enhance soil rhizomicrobiome diversity and function through improved crop and soil management practices. Herein we synthesize current literature on soybean-microbe interactions, including both symbiotic and non-symbiotic relationships with an emphasis on how plant-microbe interactions within soybean cropping systems are influenced by agricultural practices such as crop rotation, intercropping, integrated nutrient management, and no-tillage. Greater understanding of the complexity underlying rhizosphere microbiome relationships will enable design of local cropping systems enhancing soybean yield along with improving soil health.