Influence of Environmental and Agronomic Variables on Soil Microbiome in Citrus Orchards
This study aims to investigate how different farming systems influence the soil microbiome associated with citrus orchards. Using high-throughput amplicon sequencing (16S rRNA and ITS1 regions), we characterized bacterial and fungal communities in rhizosphere soil samples collected from 15 commercial citrus orchards in eastern Sicily, managed either organically or conventionally. The goal is to evaluate the impact of farming practices, environmental factors, and agronomic variables such as irrigation, tillage, rootstock, and seasonality on soil microbial diversity and function.