Impact of organic manure and inorganic fertiliser on soil enzymatic activity and microbial diversity in the States of Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, India
2016
Subramanian, S. | Nagappan, A. Senthil | Kurup, D. N.
A laboratory study was conducted to examine the effects of organic and inorganic cultivation on soil biological processes and biodiversity. Five soil samples from each of the organic manure treated fields and inorganic fertiliser treated fields from two different states, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, in India were examined. The soil types were either black cotton or loamy soil. Two other soil samples from a fallow area of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India were also included for nutrient status and biodiversity comparison. Soil organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium levels and soil enzymes that reflected soil microbial activity, such as dehydrogenase, beta glucosidase, phosphatase and nitrate reductase, were estimated. Inorganic fertilizer treated soils had the lowest organic carbon content (4.5 g kg-1) compared to the highest (12.2 g kg-1) in organic manure treated soils. Similarly, soil phosphatase, glucosidase and dehydrogenase activities were higher by 26%, 28% and 21%, respectively, in organic fertilizer treated soils. Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profiles of soil DNA indicated microbial richness in organic manure treated soil as it had a low Jaccard’s similarity coefficient of 0.577 vs 0.703 in inorganic fertilizer treated soil. Soil microbial diversity and dynamics were found to be greater in the organic system of cropping. These findings suggest that these could be used as potential indicators for soil health.
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