Total microbes and soil respiration on land without applications and with the application of oil palm empty fruit bunches in different depths

Abstract

Oil palm empty fruit bunches as a by-product of palm oil fresh fruit bunches processing are generally applied in oil palm plantation areas. This research aim was to determine the effect of oil palm empty fruit bunches application on total microbes and soil respiration. This research used a factorial randomized block design. Factor I is the sampling area, consisting of areas without application and area with the application of oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB). Factor II is the depth of soil sampling, consisting of a depth of 0-10 cm, depth of 10-20 cm, depth of 20-30 cm and depth of 30-40 cm. The total microbes in the area with OPEFB application were 33.373 × 106 CFU ml−1 with soil respiration of 2.257 mg CO2 day−1. On land without OPEFB application, total microbes were 16.64 × 106 CFU ml−1 with soil respiration of 12.20 mg CO2 day−1. On differences in the depth of soil sampling, the highest total microbes were found at a depth of 10-20 cm i.e. 33.998 × 106 with soil respiration of 19.14 mg CO2 day−1. The application of oil palm empty fruit bunches had a positive contribution to increase total microbes and respiration in the soil.