Abstract

Soil microbes show positive ecological interactions which promote nutrient recycling, decomposition and plant growth. To study the effect of different fertilizer sources on soil organic matter and soil microbial population in broccoli field, an experiment was conducted at Agriculture and Forestry University, Chitwan, Nepal from September 2015 to February 2016. The research consisted of ten treatments viz; recommended NPK fertilizer, Farmyard manure (FYM), Vermicompost (VC), Cow urine (CU), Bio organic fertilizer (BOF), (NPK 50% + FYM 50%), (FYM 50% + CU 50%), (FYM 50% + VC 50%), (FYM 50% + BOF 50%) and (25% FYM + 25% VC+ 25% CU+ 25% BOF) in randomized complete block design replicated three times. The study revealed that highest soil organic matter was recorded in FYM (50%) + vermicompost (50%) treatment (2.85%) which remained statistically similar with all other organic treatments. The recommended NPK treatment had significantly lowest SOM (2.06%). The highest bacteria population (43.6 x 10⁷ cfu/g) and highest fungi population (11.0 x 10⁶ cfu/g) were observed in treatment consisting all organic fertilizer sources (25% FYM + 25% VC+ 25% CU+ 25% BOF). In recommended NPK treatment, the bacteria and fungi population were 4.10 x 10⁷ cfu/g and 7.1 x 10⁶ cfu/g in 10^-6 dilution respectively. But, in the treatments consisting organic fertilizer sources, bacteria population ranged from 2.93 x 10⁷ cfu/g to 43.6 x 10⁷ cfu/g and fungi population ranged from 7.33 x 10⁵ cfu/g to 11.0 x 10⁶ cfu/g in the same dilution respectively. Positive regression relation was also observed in between soil organic matter and soil microbes. Therefore, organic fertilizer sources supported for soil organic matter enrichment and promotion of bacteria and fungi population in the soil in comparison to chemical fertilizers.

Keywords: Soil Microbes; Soil Organic Matter; Colony Forming Units; Organic Fertilizer

References

1. Michaud DS., et al. “Intakes of fruits and vegetables, carotenoids and vitamins A, E, C in relation to the risk of bladder cancer in the ATBC cohort study”. British Journal of Cancer 87 (2002): 960-965.
2. Zhao H., et al. “Dietary isothiocyanates, GSTM1, GSTT1, NAT2 polymorphisms and bladder cancer risk”. International Journal of Cancer 120 (2007): 2208-2213.
3. Whitman WB., et al. “Prokaryote: the unseen majority”. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 95 (1998): 6578-6583.
4. Soil bacteria. 
5. Grayston SJ., et al. “Selective influence of plant species on microbial diversity in the rhizosphere”. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 30 (1998): 369-378.
6. Marschner P., et al. “Soil and plant specific effects on bacterial community composition in the rhizosphere”. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 33 (2001): 1437-1445.
7. Vieira FCS and Nahas E. “Comparison of microbial numbers in soils by using various culture media and temperatures”. Microbiological Research 160 (2005): 197-202.
8. Bonkowski M., et al. “Rhizosphere fauna: The functional and structural diversity of intimate interactions of soil fauna with plant roots”. Plant and Soil 321 (2009): 213-233. 
9. Bais HP., et al. “The role of root exudates in rhizosphere interactions with plants and other organisms”. Annual Review of Plant Biology 57 (2006): 233-266. 
10. Dauda SN., et al. “Growth and yield of water melon (Citrullus lanatus) as affected by poultry manure application”. Electronic Journal of Environmental, Agricultural and Food Chemistry 4 (2008): 305-311.
11. Suresh KD., et al. “Microbial biomass carbon and microbial activities of soils receiving chemical fertilizers and organic amendments”. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science 50 (2004): 641-647.
12. Arancon NQ., et al. “Effect of vermicomposts produced from cattle manure, food waste and paper waste on the growth and yield of peppers in the field”. Pedobiologia 49 (2005): 297-306.
13. Coleman DC., et al. “Biological strategies of nutrient cycling in soil systems”. Annual Review of Ecological Systems 13 (1983): 1-56. 
14. Marumoto T., et al. “Mineralization of nutrients from soil microbial biomass”. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 14 (1982): 469-475.
15. MoAD. “Agriculture Diary”. Ministry of Agriculture Development, Kathmandu, Nepal (2015).
16. Hamdine S. “Heavy metal traces in potatoes and cabbages fertilized with human urine and composted faeces”. M. Sc. Thesis. University of Applied Sciences. Switzerland 45 (2008).
17. Sharma R., et al. “Effects of cattle urine and FYM on yield of broccoli and soil properties”. Journal of Agri-Search 3 (2016):157-160.
18. Schoeneberger PJ., et al. “Field book for describing and sampling soils, Version 3.0”. Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Soil Survey Center, USDA (2012): 4-8.
19. Jaishy SN. “Current fertility status of Nepal and IPNS”. In: Jaishy SN, Mandal SN, Subedi TB, Subedi KS and Weber G (Eds.). Component of integrated plant (2000) 63-72.
20. Serial dilution and microbial counting. 
21. Fahy PC and Persley GJ. “Plant Bacterial Diseases, A Diagnostic Guide”. Academic Press, NY (1983). 
22. Tuite J. “Plant pathological methods: Fungi and bacteria”. Burgess Publishing Company, USA (1969).
23. Microbiologic Dilutions Guide. 
24. Haynes RJ. “Labile organic matter fractions as central components of the quality of agricultural soils: an overview”. Advances in Agronomy 85 (2005): 221-268.
25. Lal R. “Sequestering carbon in soils of agro-ecosystems”. Food Policy 36 (2011): 533-539.
26. Elzobair KA., et al. “Contrasting effects of biochar verse manure on soil microbial communities and enzyme activities in an Aridisol”. Chemosphere 142 (2016): 145-152.
27. Petek M., et al. “Leaf Content of Macro and Microelements in Vitis vinifera cv. Sauvignon Blanc”. VI International ISHS Symposium on Mineral Nutrition on Fruit Crops, Portugal (2008).
28. Mulvaney RL., et al. “Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers deplete soil nitrogen: a global dilemma for sustainable cereal production”. Journal of Environmental Quality 38 (2009): 2295-2314.
29. Russell AE., et al. “Nitrogen fertilizer effects on soil carbon balances in Midwestern US agricultural systems”. Ecological Applications 19 (2009): 1102-1113.
30. Zane FL and Basil DD. “Residual effects of dairy cattle manure on plant growth and soil properties”. Agronomy Journal 72 (1980): 123-130.
31. Theodora M., et al. “Effects of injected liquid cattle manure on growth and yield of winter wheat and soil characteristics”. Agronomy Journal 95 (2003): 592-560.
32. Veeresha S and Gopakkali P. “Effect of organic production practices on yield and soil health of irrigated maize (Zea mays L.) as influenced by various levels of FYM and cattle urine application”. Environment and Ecology 32 (2014): 627-630.
33. Piaszczyk W., et al. “Study on the effect of organic fertilizers on soil organic matter and enzyme activities of soil in forest nursery”. Soil Science Annual 68.3 (2017): 125-131.
34. Dinesh R., et al. “Short-term incorporation of organic manures and biofertilizers influences biochemical and microbial characteristics of soils under an annual crop; Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.)”. Bioresource Technology 101 (2010): 4697-4702. 
35. Kaur K., et al. “Impact of organic manures with and without mineral fertilizers on soil chemical and biological properties under tropical conditions”. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science 168 (2005): 117-122.
36. Liu ZJ., et al. “Soil quality assessment of yellow clayey paddy soils with different productivity”. Biology and Fertility of Soils 50 (2014): 537-548.
37. Zhang XY., et al. “Responses of absolute and specific soil enzyme activities to long term additions of organic and mineral fertilizer”. Science of the Total Environment 536 (2015): 59-67.
38. Bunemann EK., et al. “Impact of agricultural inputs on soil organisms- a review”. Australian Journal of Soil Research 44 (2006): 379-406.
39. Shi-wei Z and Fuzhen H. “The nitrogen uptake efficiency from 15N labelled chemical fertilizer in the presence of earthworm manure (cast)”. In: Veeresh GK, D Rajagopal and CA Viraktamath (editions) Advances in Management and Conservation of Soil Fauna. Oxford and IBH publishing Co., New Delhi (1991): 539-542.
40. Ai C., et al. “The alleviation of acid soil stress in rice by inorganic and organic ameliorants is associated with changes in soil enzyme activity and microbial community composition”. Biology and Fertility of Soils 51 (2015): 465-477.
41. Gomez E., et al. “Soil bacterial functional diversity as influenced by organic amendment application”. Bio Resource Technology 97 (2006): 1484-1489.

Citation

Citation: Salina Panta.,et al. “Effect of Fertilizer Sources on Soil Organic Matter and Soil Microbial Population in Broccoli Field" Acta Scientific Agriculture 4.6 (2020): 36-44.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2020 Salina Panta.,et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.