Short‐term effects of organic and inorganic fertilizer applications on soil microbial properties

Abstract

This paper reports the short

†term effects of organic and inorganic fertilizer

applications on the culturable resident bacterial and fungal properties of a

Ferric Acrisol in the semi

â€Âdeciduous forest zone of Ghana after three continuous

cropping seasons. The treatments were two compost types (i.e. 1:1

compost comprising 1 part made up of

Chromolaena, Stylosanthes, maize

stover mixture and 1 part of cattle manure, 2:1 compost comprising 2 parts

of

Chromolaena, Stylosanthes, maize stover mixture and 1 part of cattle manure),

cowdung, 100% NPK and a control replicated three times in a randomized

complete block design. The results showed that total microbial load on a

logarithmic scale ranged from 4.6 cfu/g in the control to 5.4 on cowdung

treated plots. Bacterial counts on 2:1 compost applied at 5 t/ha treated

plots recorded 5% more bacteria than the 1:1 compost applied at 5 t/ha.

Fungal counts in the control and inorganic treated plots were higher than the

organically amended plots. The highest and lowest microbial biomass C contents

were recorded on cowdung and 1:1 compost at 5 t/ha treated plots

respectively. Microbial biomass N content ranged from 1.4

†8.2 mg N kgâ€Â1

soil with a mean value of 6.2 mg N kg

â€Â1 soil. Microbial biomass P content

ranged from 3.6

†6.3 mg P kgâ€Â1 soil with a mean value of 5 mg P kgâ€Â1 soil.

Microbial biomass carbon to organic carbon ratio varied from 18.37 to 85.63.