Soil, nutrient, and management

Impact of long-term use of fertilizers and manure on the microbial population in a rice-wheatcowpea system
Praveen Singh, Nand Ram, and Ramesh Chandra, Department of Soil Science, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar 263145, India Email: nandram@fastmail.fm

The continuous use of fertilizers under intensive cropping might alter the status of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes in the soil (Campbell et al 1994). Frequent monitoring of the microbial population is therefore essential. Our study was undertaken in a permanent field of the All India Coordinated Research Project on long-term fertilizer use at Pantnagar (29N latitude, 793E longitude, and altitude of 243.8 m). The experiment involved 25 y of continuous use of fertilizers and manure in a rice-wheat-cowpea system. The experimental soil was an Aquic hapludoll with silty clay loam texture. In surface soil (015 cm), bulk density and organic C content were 1.33 Mg m3 and 14.8 g kg1, respectively. Available N, P, and K extractable with alkaline KMnO4, 0.5 M NaHCO3, and 1 N NH4OAc was 175, 8.4, and 55.8 ppm, respectively (Nand Ram 1995). The treatments, quadruplicated in a randomized block design, consisted of a control, 100% N, 100% NP, 100% NPK, and 100% NPK + farmyard manure (FYM). The soil test-based fertilizer rates of NPK addition at optimal level (100% NPK) were 120, 26, and 37 kg ha1 for rice and 120, 26, and 33 kg ha1 for wheat; cowpea has been grown for fodder on residual soil fertility without any nutrient input since the establishment of the experiment. In the 100% NPK+ FYM treatment, FYM was incorporated at 15 t ha1 y1 before wheat sowing. Surface soil samples (015 cm) collected from selected treatments were analyzed for organic C and available NPK. Counts of viable microorganisms after the wheat harvest in April were determined by a 10-fold serial dilution using Thorntons medium for bacteria, Martins Rose Bengal streptomycin agar medium for fungi, and Kenknight and Munair medium for actinomycetes (Wollum 1982). The effects of a continuous use of fertilizers and manure for 25 years on soil fertility and the microbial population are shown in Table 1. Organic C varied from 5.0 to 15.4 g kg1, while that of available N, P, and K ranged from 73.7 to 125.9, 3.07 to 14.2, and 43.8 to 65.6 kg ha1, respectively. Bacterial count varied between 12.3 and 23.5 106 cfu g1 soil; fungal count between 38.6 and 65.4 104 cfu; and actinomycetes between 3.1 and 6.3 104 cfu. The least amount was

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International Rice Research Notes (0117-4185)

Soil, nutrient, and management

noted in the control and the highest was seen in the NPK + FYM treatment. The abundance of microorganisms was observed to be in this order: bacteria > fungi > actinomycetes.
Table 1. Long-term effects of fertilizers and manure on soil fertility parameters and the microbial population.
Treatment Organic C (g kg1) 5.0 8.2 8.3 8.5 15.4 0.5 Soil fertility parameters Available N Available P (ppm) (ppm) 73.7 3.07 104.0 3.79 100.9 9.87 102.7 9.73 125.9 14.20 6.52 1.04 Available K (ppm) 43.8 42.8 43.3 55.3 65.6 2.83 Microbial population (cfu g1 soil) Bacteria Fungi Actinomycetes (1 106) (1 104) (1 104) 12.3 38.6 3.1 13.2 44.9 3.3 15.6 46.1 3.4 17.6 45.2 4.7 23.5 65.4 6.3 2.15 6.00 0.80

Control 100% N 100% NP 100% NPK 100% NPK + FYM CD P=0.05

The long-term use of N alone over the years had no influence on bacterial and actinomycete populations, but it enhanced fungal count significantly compared with the control (Campbell et al 1994). Adding P and PK along with N improved the bacterial count by 18% and 33% over N alone (Goyal et al 1992), while fungal count remained unaffected. Because of K, a 42% increase in actinomycete count was noted (Badiyala et al 1990). Moreover, the integrated use of optimal NPK fertilizers and FYM (100% NPK + FYM) stimulated the growth of bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes by 33%, 44%, and 34%, respectively, compared with only optimal NPK fertilizers (Selvi et al 2004). This increase in microbial count due to FYM could be attributed to improved soil physical conditions and organic matter buildup (Rawat et al 1996). Soil fertility parameters showed a significant relationship with the microbial population (Table 2). Soil organic C had a positive and significant relationship with bacterial (0.839**), fungal (0.709*), and actinomycete (0.729*) counts. The data revealed that, with improvement in organic C status of the soil, the microbial population increased. Shuglya and Karyagina (1982) also observed similar results. Available N was positively correlated with bacterial count (0.682*), and so were available P with bacterial (0.694*) and fungal counts and available K with bacterial (0.689*) and actinomycete counts (0.660*). The results suggest that the microbial population improved with soil fertility and organic C buildup.

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International Rice Research Notes (0117-4185)

Soil, nutrient, and management

Table 2. Relationship between soil fertility parameters and microbial counts.a

Soil fertility parameter Organic C Available N Available P Available K
a*

Bacteria 0.839** 0.682* 0.694* 0.689*

Fungi 0.709* 0.398 0.606* 0.553

Actinomycetes 0.729* 0.507 0.550 0.660*

and** = significant at P = 0.05 and 0.01, respectively.

References
Badiyala SD, Awasthi RP, Gupta RD. 1990. Effects of fertilizer and management practices on microflora I Alfisol growing citrus. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 38:537-540. Campbell CA, Biederrbeck UO, Ukrainetz H, Curtin D, Bouyman T. 1994. Effects of long-term use of urea and anhydrous ammonia on crop yields and soil characterstics. In: Proceedings of the 15th World Congress of Soil Science, Mexico, 10-16 July 1994. Vol. 5A. p 704-713. Goyal S, Mishra MM, Hooda IS, Singh R. 1992. Organic matter-microbial biomass relationship in field experiments under tropical conditions: effects of inorganic fertilization and organic amendment. Soil Biol. Biochem. 24:1081-1084. Nand Ram 1995. Long-term effects of fertilizers on crop production and soil properties in a mollisol. Technical Research Bulletin No. 124. Pantnagar (India): G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology. Rawat MS, Tripathi RP, Nand Ram. 1996. Long-term effects of puddling and fertilizer use in ricewheat-cowpea sequence on structural properties of soil. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 44:354-368. Selvi D, Santhy P, Dhakshinamoorthy M, Maheshwari M. 2004. Microbial population and biomass in rhizosphere as influenced by continuous intensive cultivation and fertilization in an Inceptisol. J. Indian Soc. Soil Sci. 52(3):254-257. Shuglya ZM, Karyagina LA. 1982. Effects of long-term application of FYM and mineral fertilizers on soil properties and crop yield in rotation. Agrokhimiya 5:51-54. Wollum AG. 1982. Cultural methods for soil microorganisms. In: Page AL, Miller RH, Keeney DR, editors. Methods of soil analysis. Part. 2. Chemical and microbiological properties. Agronomy Monograph No. 9. Madison, Wis. (USA): ASA-SSSA. p 781-814.

2009

International Rice Research Notes (0117-4185)