An investigation on effect of different agricultural practices on soil microflora: a potential indicator of soil fertility

Abstract

Agricultural management practices strongly influence the structure and function of soil microbial community. The present study was aimed to assess the effect of (a) different fertilizer treatments i.e organic (vermicompost, VM) and chemical(CH) and (b) tillage regimes i.e conventional tillage(CT) and no-till(NT) on soil microbial population and biomass. Soil samples were taken from rhizosphere (Rh) and non-rhizosphere (NRh) of wheat crop planted in field plots and were evaluated for microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen(MBN). A positive effect of organic fertilizers and no-tillage system was observed on the microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen content of soil. MBC and MBN was also significantly higher in rhizosphere as compared to non-rhizosphere in all the selected farming systems. The average microbial biomass C was found to be 964.0 μg g-1and 662.4 μg g-1 for Rh and NRh region of vermicompost treated soil. MBC for chemical fertilizer amended soil was observed as 713.5 μg g-1(Rh) and 542.8 5 μg g-1 (NRh) respectively. Significant differences were observed between soil microbial flora of different systems studied. Results of the study revealed that organic farming and conservation tillage practices restore more microbial flora and improve soil microbial properties, which are potential indicators of soil structure and fertility and hence effect the crop productivity.