TABLE 1.

Cases of water management, using CEA systems or controlled agricultural techniques to explore the impact of the microbiome on yield.

Plant	Water management method	Effects on microbial communities in rhizosphere microenvironment	Application effect	References
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)	Irrigation combined with aeration.	The abundance of Acidobacteria increased and that of Gammaproteobacteria decreased in response to aeration treatments; conversely, Geobacteraceae and Halanaerobiaceae were eliminated.	The ACE, Chao index, Shannon diversity index, root length, surface area, tips, and activity all increased.	Li Y. et al. (2020)
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)	Subsurface drip irrigation combined with concentrated organic fertilizer application.	Higher mycorrhizal colonization rates, higher abundance of microbial N-cycling genes, and lower activities of carbon-degrading enzymes were found in the rhizosphere of surface drip irrigation plants compared to full irrigation.	Tomato plants produced shorter and finer root systems with higher densities of roots around the drip line, stems and leaves increased, however, marketable tomato yield decreased by 28.3%.	Li M. et al. (2020)
Maize (Zea mays L.)	Well-watered irrigation and water-stressed irrigation in field blocks.	Highly significant differences (approximately 2.6–3.9% of the variation in microbial community composition) were found due to water stress. Water stress-induced belowground bacterial and archaeal microbiomes dramatically change, which were relative abundance increase of Actinobacteria and Saccharibacteria in rhizosphere, and decrease of Chloroflexi, Proteobacteria, and Cyanobacteria.	Water-stressed irrigation significantly reduced maize growth and productivity, among which 28% reduction was found in grain yield as compared to well-water conditions.	Wang et al. (2020)
Rapeseed (Brassica chinensis L.)	Supplying water based on plant consumption by using negative pressure irrigation technique.	The dominance of Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria in the rhizosphere was eliminated, and other taxa thrive, including Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Verrucomicrobia, Firmicutes, Planctomycetes, etc.	The yield and quality of rapeseed were improved, the content of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) of the plant was increased, and the water consumption was reduced.	Zhao et al. (2019)
Bell pepper (Capsicum annuum cv. Revolution)	Drip irrigation (below ground surface) subjected to well-watered and deficit irrigation levels.	Extra moisture positively induced fungi abundance through improvement in plant aboveground performance. Microbial activity at the community level decreased with water content reduction. Bacteria were more sensitive to water input changes as compared to fungi.	Higher water input contributed to the increase of pepper yield but negatively affected substrate respiration. Deficit irrigation reduced yield by 12.0% compared to the well-watered treatment, while root responses also followed a similar pattern as fruit yield.	Qin et al. (2019)
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)	Surface drip irrigation combined with aeration.	Aeration slightly increased mean values of the abundance of bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes, with average increases of 4.6, 5.5, and 3.4%, respectively, and the abundance increased as irrigation amount increased.	Total root length was significantly increased by 22.2% on average under aeration, meanwhile, total root surface area and volume under the aeration was 6.6% and 6.7% higher than that of the control, respectively. Dry biomass of tomato leaf, stem, fruit, and root increased as irrigation amount increased, and the effect was significant on leaf, fruit, and root.	Chen et al. (2019a)
Maize (Zea mays L.)	Two levels of water stress irrigation for pot experiment.	Soil pH was lower in the rhizosphere than bulk soil but was not affected by water deficiency.	Water stress significantly decreased the rhizosphere protease activity at elongation, tasseling and grain-filling stages, and reduced the rhizosphere alkaline phosphatase activity at tasseling and grain-filling stages.	Song et al. (2012)