Soil inoculation method determines the strength of plant-soil interactions

► Plants influence the soil in which they grow, this feeds back to their performance. ► This so-called plant-soil effect is determined by plant influences on biotic and abiotic soil conditions. ► In pot experiments, soil is often processed to prepare soil or microbial inocula. ► This study shows that soil inoculum preparation can strongly influence the strength of the plant-soil effect. ► Inoculation with an aqueous soil inoculum does not reflect inoculation with field soil.