eng Science and Education Publishing World Journal of Agricultural Research 2333-0678 2023-12-24 11 4 98 106 10.12691/wjar-11-4-2 WJAR20231142 article Eunice Essel eessel@cktutas.edu.gh 1 2 Lingling Li 2 Jicheng Shen 2 College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, No.1 Yingmencun, Anning District, Lanzhou 730070, P.R. China Tillage practises can affect the soil microbes and edaphic properties. The research was aimed to assess the influence of tillage and stubble retention on the soil bacterial diversity and soil properties at the flowering stage of the field pea (Pisum arvense L.) in a rotation system with spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The experiment had four treatments; no-tillage with stubble removed (NT), no-tillage with stubble retained (NTS), conventional tillage with stubble removed (T), and conventional tillage with stubble incorporated (TS). Microbial genes in top bulk soil and rhizosphere soils were sequenced using bacterial 16S rRNA (V3V4) genes. Soil from NT and NTS recorded high number of bacterial 16S rRNA operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and the bacterial community in the 0-10 cm top soil varied significantly. Bacterial diversity indices in the bulk soil were greater compared to the rhizosphere. The predominant bacterial groups were Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Acidobacteria. Bacterial classes correlated with soil temperature, nitrogen, and organic carbon, Olsen phosphorus and microbial biomass carbon in bulk and rhizosphere soil. The results showed the benefits of long-term tillage and crop residue and their influence on soil properties and microbial diversity in semi-arid environments. https://pubs.sciepub.com/wjar/11/4/2/wjar-11-4-2.pdf bacterial diversity 16S rRNA tillage crop residue soil properties