Effects of Effective-Microorganism (EM) Treated Fish Pond Effluent on Soil Microbial Activities

Abstract

An experiment was conducted at the Department of Crop/Soil Science, Rivers State University to evaluate effects of Effective Microorganism (EM) treated fish pond effluent on soil microbial activities. The study had two levels of fish pond effluent (Diluted and undiluted) and three levels of treated effluent (0EMAS, EMAS, EMAS+EM5) laid out in a completely randomized design with three replications. Microbial count and Carbon-dioxide evolution were evaluated. Total Carbon-dioxide evolved after 15 weeks was highest in soils treated with EMAS+EM5-N and was least in EMAS+EM5-D. The identified fungal isolates were Aspergillus and Mucor species, and the identified bacteria were Bacillus and Micrococcus species but bacteria were more predominant than fungi and recorded highest in soils treated with EMAS+EM5-N. Also Effective Microorganism (EM) increased the biodiversity of microorganism. Data were subjected to analysis of variance.