An Integrated Crop Management Strategy Using Wood Chips and Pumice Under Feather Compost for Sustainable Ginger Soilless Production and Endophytic Bacteria Composition in Open Field

This study evaluated the effects of placing wood chips (F-Wood chip) or pumice (F-Pumice) at the bottom of poultry feather compost on open-field ginger soilless media production. Root control bags were prepared with 10 L of wood chips or pumice overlain by 20 L of feather compost, with three ginger rhizomes planted. Crops were drip-irrigated without synthetic fertilization and replenished with compost three times. Results indicated that bottom-placed wood chips or pumice improved water infiltration. Ginger yield was significantly higher in the F-Wood chip treatment than in the F-Pumice, with fresh weights of 3.4 and 2.5 kg, and dry weights of 451.8 and 332.7 g, respectively. Furthermore, F-Wood chip significantly increased rhizome calcium levels. Although no significant differences were observed between treatments regarding leaf and post-harvest media nutrient contents, the F-Wood chip group exhibited higher microbial abundance (9.5 ± 4.5 × 105 CFU −1) and greater endophytic diversity, spanning 7 genera and 11 species with potential plant growth-promoting and stress-resistance functions. Overall, this innovative integrated crop management strategy demonstrates great potential to substitute for fossil-fuel-based chemical fertilizers, this innovative production mode eliminates the need for fossil-fuel-based chemical fertilizers, offering an applicable and sustainable soilless cultivation solution for open-field ginger production under extreme weather conditions like typhoons and heavy rainfall.