ISSN: 0973-7510

E-ISSN: 2581-690X

Ajeet Kumar, J. Yadav, Awtar Singh and A.P. Singh
1Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi-221005, India.
J Pure Appl Microbiol. 2015;9(1):671-681
© The Author(s). 2015
Received: 25/11/2014 | Accepted: 06/01/2015 | Published: 31/03/2015
Abstract

Soil  health  indicators  are  needed  that  help  farmers  to  understand  the chain of cause and effect that links farm decision to ultimate productivity and health of  plant  and  animals. No single indicator was universal in describing soil property change due to the cultivation. However, there was a significant correlation between soil physical, chemical and biological indicators, which validates the holistic approach to soil health management and the need to better understanding of the flow on effects of soil management decisions. The Indo-Gangetic plain of Varanasi district was selected for the study. 24 surface soil (0-15cm) samples were collected from the cultivated land in Varanasi district and analysed for pH, EC, available N, P, K content and biological health status of soil. 22 samples having the low organic carbon status and 2 samples are medium in organic carbon. The availability of nitrogen vary from 163 to 301 kg ha-1, phosphorus ranges from 14.16 to 40.39 2 kg ha-1, while range of potassium vary 112.0 to 1358 kg ha-1. The Dehydrogenase activity of soil vary from 24.33 to 70.33 µg TPF g-1 soil day-1,  urease activity of soil vary from 128.60 to 342.30 µg UH g-1 soil h-1, alkaline Phosphatase activity vary from  68.70 to 211.70 µg PNP g-1soil h-1, whereas acid Phosphatase activity from  57.30 to 162.30 µg PNP g-1soil h-1. The Soil microbial biomass carbon (SMBC) and soil respiration values of the soils vary from 90.60 to 321.30 mg C kg-1 soil and 0.1992 to 0.5421 mg CO2-C g-1 soil day-1. Microbial Population of bacteria, fungi and actinomycetes in the soils vary from 14.20-42.70, 6.70-32.70 and 9.30-31.30 CFU x 106 g-1 soil respectively.

Keywords

Nutrients availability, enzymatic activity, soil microbial biomass carbon, organic carbon, microbial Population

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