A scoping review of how various management practices influence bacterial and fungal genera within sugarcane production systems

Soil microorganisms are critical to ecosystem functions, yet a comprehensive synthesis of how specific sugarcane management practices alters the balance of nutrient solubilisers, pathogen suppressors, and pathogenic microorganisms remains noticeably absent from current literature. This scoping review synthesised literature on soil microbial communities under contrasting management practices, focusing on these three functional groups. Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, 42 studies were selected, categorising 146 bacterial and 95 fungal genera based on their functional traits. Sphingomonas , Bradyrhizobium , Bacillus , Gemmatimonas , Streptomyces and Acidothermus emerged as the most frequently reported bacterial genera, while Talaromyces , Fusarium , Curvularia , and Mortierella dominated the fungal genera. Management practices, including intercropping, fertilisation, and straw return, significantly influenced microbial structures, although responses were often inconsistent across different experimental settings. These divergent microbial shifts were driven by key moderating factors identified include experimental scale (field vs. greenhouse), soil compartment (bulk vs. rhizosphere), and sugarcane variety. Overall, these findings demonstrated that soil microbial responses in sugarcane systems are highly context-dependent and driven by complex interactions among management practices, environmental conditions, and crop genotype. Consequently, achieving sustainable sugarcane production will require integrated, systems-based approaches that optimise these multi-faced interactions rather than relying on isolated management interventions.