Effects of mutual intercropping of tomato on soil enzyme activity and available selenium under selenium stress

Abstract

In order to study the effect of mutual intercropping tomato on soil enzyme activity and available selenium content in selenium-containing soil, cherry tomatoes of red, yellow and purple varieties were selected for pairwise and three intercrops in this experiment respectively. The results showed that the activities of sucrase, phosphatase and urease in soil were increased after the three kinds of tomato were intercropped with each other, and the highest soil enzyme activity was found when red and purple tomatoes were mixed. Soil pH reached the maximum when three tomatoes were mixed. The content of available selenium in soil after intercropping tomato was higher than monoculture, and the content of available selenium was the highest when red and yellow tomatoes were mixed. Therefore, intercropping could improve the soil microecological environment, increase soil enzyme activity and increase available selenium content in tomato rhizosphere soil.