Effects of Microbial Coating Agents on Alfalfa Production Performance, Nutritional Quality, Soil Particle Size and Soil Enzyme Activity

To screen efficient microbial coating formulations and explore their effects on the growth of alfalfa and soil properties, ‘Gannong No. 3’ alfalfa was used as the experimental material. A single-factor randomized block field experiment was conducted with eight treatments (CK as bare seeds, BC as adhesive filler coated agent, J1-J3 as rhizobium agent, growth-promoting bacteria agent, and rhizobium plus growth-promoting bacteria seed soaking, respectively, B1-B3 as rhizobium, growth-promoting bacteria, and rhizobium plus growth-promoting bacteria coating agents, respectively). This study analyzes the effects of different microbial coating formulations on alfalfa, including its production performance and nutritional quality, as well as on soil properties. Comprehensive analysis shows that the growth-promoting microbial coating (B2) is the optimal formulation. It can simultaneously optimize alfalfa production performance, enhance nutritional quality, improve soil particle composition, and increase soil enzyme activity, achieving a synergistic improvement of both alfalfa and the soil ecosystem. Its application effect is significantly better than other treatments and can provide important theoretical support and practical reference for the development and application of efficient microbial seed coatings in high-quality alfalfa cultivation.