Abstract
Phosphorus is essential for plant growth, but its availability in soils is limited due to low solubility of phosphate compounds. This study evaluated the combined effects of crop residues (CR) and phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB) on the dissolution of Moroccan phosphate rock. Pot experiments were conducted for 60 days using different doses of MPR (450 kg/ha, 300 kg/ha, and 150 kg/ha), rice and maize crop residues, and a PSB consortium from a rice paddy field. Parameters such as pH, bacterial count, and phosphorus content were measured. The pH increase was significantly higher under the T3 treatment (CR + PSB) with pH 8.26 to 8.58, followed by T1 (CR alone) with pH 7.73 to 8.1, T2 (PSB alone) with pH 7.4 to 7.91, and T0 (control) with pH 7.27 to 7.67. The number of PSB was highest under the T3 treatment (1238.5 x 10-6 to 2081.1 x 10-6 bacteria/g dry matter), followed by T1 (127.2 x 10-6 to 249.03 x 10-6 bacteria/g dry matter) and T2 with 1.7 x 10-6 to 44.6 x 10-6 bacteria/g dry matter, regardless of the MPR dose. Phosphorus solubilization was 35% to 62% with PSB alone (T2), 72% to 88.5% with CR alone (T1), and over 83.98% when both CR and PSB were combined (T3). This increase was more pronounced with higher MPR doses (300 to 450 kg/ha). Incorporating PSB and crop residues as biofertilizers is a viable strategy for enhancing phosphate rock dissolution and improving soil fertility in agricultural systems.
Published Version
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