Analysis of microflora diversity in inter-root soil of different propagating materials of yam at seedling stage

<bold>Objective</bold> This study aims to investigate the characteristics of rhizosphere soil microflora communities during the seedling stage of different propagating materials of yam，thus providing a scientific basis for the healthy cultivation of yam and the selection of propagation materials. <bold>Method</bold> The characteristics of microbial community structure of rhizosphere soil in tuber head，tuber section and bulbil of yam were compared by pot method and high-throughput sequencing technology. <bold>Result</bold> Alpha diversity analysis showed that soil bacterial and fungal species richness and diversity were significantly higher in bulbil than in tuber head.Principal coordinate analysis（PCoA）showed that the tuber were more similar to the bulbil in bacterial community structure，and the tuber head were more similar to the tuber section in fungal community structure.Analysis of bacterial community composition revealed that tuber head were significantly enriched with <italic>Cyanobacteria</italic> and the genus <italic>norank_f_norank_o_Chloroplast</italic>，while tuber section and bulbil showed significant enrichment of <italic>Chloroflexi</italic> and <italic>Acidobacteriota</italic>.Fungal community analysis demonstrated that both tuber head and tuber section were significantly enriched with the potential pathogenic genus <italic>Talaromyces</italic>，whereas bulbil were notably enriched with beneficial fungal genera <italic>Mortierella</italic> and <italic>Chaetomium</italic>.Community differentiation analysis indicated significant differences in both bacterial and fungal community structures between tuber head versus tuber section/bulbil，while tuber section and bulbil exhibited high similarity in microbial community composition. <bold>Conclusion</bold> This study demonstrates that different yam propagation materials significantly influence rhizosphere soil microbial communities，thereby altering the microecological environment for yam growth.Cultivation using stem segment and bulbil can enhance microbial diversity and improve soil health.Bulbil planting can enrich beneficial fungi and enhance systemic disease resistance. However，tuber head cultivation poses a risk of pathogenic fungal enrichment.These findings provide a microbiological basis for healthy yam cultivation practices.