Continuous cropping with banana results in an enrichment of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense race 4
(FOC) in soil, causing the soil-borne disease Fusarium wilt. Crop rotation has been an effective method of
controlling various soil-borne diseases. However, no information is currently available concerning variations
in soil microbial community structure in banana crop rotations. Thus, the influence of two-year
crop rotation systems of pineappleebanana and maizeebanana on the population density of FOC and soil
microbial community structure was investigated to identify which rotation system is more effective in
FOC suppression and differences in microbial community composition among different rotations. Bacterial
and fungal communities were interrogated by pyrosequencing of the 16 S RNA gene and the internal
transcribed spacer (ITS) region. The pineappleebanana rotation was more effective than maize
ebanana in reducing FOC abundances and suppressing Fusarium wilt disease incidence. Allelopathic
effects of pineapple root exudates on FOC were not observed. Greater fungal community variations than
bacterial were identified between the two rotation systems, suggesting that fungal communities may
play a more important role in regulating FOC abundances. Furthermore, in the pineappleebanana
rotation, Acidobacteria, Planctomycetes, Chloroflexi phyla, Gp1, Gp2 and Burkholderia bacterial genera
increased while the fungal phyla Basidiomycota, (esp. Gymnopilus) increased and Sordariomycetes
decreased. Such changes may be important microbial factors in the decrease in FOC