Effects of a microbial treatment of

Introduction: Microbial amendments are increasingly used in sustainable crop production, but it remains unclear whether their application is accompanied by coordinated changes in fruit traits, rhizosphere soil conditions, and resident bacterial communities in blueberry cultivation. This study examined whether microbial culture treatment was associated with concurrent changes in blueberry fruit performance, rhizosphere soil chemical properties, and bacterial community characteristics. Methods: Highbush blueberry ( Results: Relative to NT, BT showed first visible fruit set 10.89 days earlier and higher soluble solids content, increasing from 11.33 ± 1.00 to 15.00 ± 0.71 °Brix. BT was associated with lower electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity, total nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, exchangeable K, Ca, Mg, and organic matter, whereas available phosphorus was higher. Soil pH, exchangeable Na, salinity, and nitrate nitrogen did not differ significantly between treatments. Bray-Curtis analysis suggested treatment-associated clustering of bacterial communities; however, PERMANOVA did not detect a statistically significant difference in overall community composition (pseudo- Discussion: Microbial culture treatment was associated with coordinated differences in blueberry fruit traits, rhizosphere nutrient conditions, and bacterial community characteristics. However, the present design does not establish causal relationships among these responses. Because the cultures were applied in growth media without a separate sterile medium control, the effects of viable microorganisms could not be distinguished from potential effects of medium-derived components.