Abstract
An incubation study on soil amendment was carried out with sugarcane trash (ST), press mud (PM), mustard oil cake (MOC), and cow dung (CD) to investigate the periodic changes in mineral nitrogen (N), microbial biomass carbon (C), and N formation in soil. Nitrogen mineralization and microbial biomass C and N were measured at 0, 7, 14, 28, 42, 56, 70, and 84 days of incubation. Organic material (OM) amended soils significantly increased mineral N over control except ST that encouraged N immobilization. Significantly higher amount of microbial biomass C and N were produced in all the amended soils over control. Biomass C and N were increased rapidly within 7 days and decreased thereafter and reached a constant level after 28–42 days of incubation. A significantly higher amount of microbial biomass C (246.33 mg kg−1soil) was found in ST-amended soil followed by MOC (229.39 mg kg−1soil), PM (220.27 mg kg−1 soil), CD (189.05 mg kg−1soil), and control (123.41 mg kg−1 soil). Similarly, a higher significant quantity of microbial biomass N (43.60 mg kg−1 soil) was found in ST-amended soil followed by MOC (41.38 mg kg−1soil), PM (39.76 mg kg−1 soil), CD (37.05 mg kg−1soil), and control (22.04 mg kg−1 soil). The apparent percentage of N assimilation in microbial biomass from added OM was linearly and positively correlated with the C:N ratios of added OM, both at the time of maximum biomass formation (r = 0.997**) and the end of incubation (r = 0.999**).
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call