Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
TABLE 11.6
Changes in Soil Fertility indices in Response to Inoculation with Microbial
Consortium (Pooled Data of 2 Seasons)
Soil fertility (mg kg
-1
)
N
P
K
Fe
Mn
Cu
Zn
Control
116.2
13.2
166.7
8.8
6.7
1.12
0.62
Treated
123.4
16.2
169.7
13.7
10.2
1.16
0.88
t
P = 0.05
3.95
2.0
NS
1.75
1.35
NS
0.12
Microbial biomass nutrients (mg kg
-1
)
C
mic
N
mic
P
mic
Control
119.8
21.8
13.5
Treated
147.7
34.1
17.8
t
P = 0.05
9.85
2.5
1.25
Computed on
the basis of analysis after 162 days of inoculation
C
mic
, N
mic
,
and P
mic
stand for microbial biomass-C, microbial biomass-N and microbial
biomass-P, respectively.
Source:
Wu
and Srivastava (2012).
The treatment combination of ¾P + AM + N was observed the best
treatment with reference to better growth and yield of high quality fruits
of ‛Mosambi' sweet orange suggesting the compatibility of biofertilizers
(AZO) and AM inoculation in combination with chemical fertilizers for
better growth, yield and fruit quality. Such observations in the long-term
are expected to cut down the cost of chemical fertilizers, particularly N
and P and building up fertility by maintaining better soil physical condi-
tions (Chonkhe et al., 2000). High efficiency of
Azospirillum
for fixing
nitrogen and better mobilization of fixed phosphorus by AM even at high
temperatures can make these highly suited for Mosambi sweet orange
(Manjunath et al., 1983).
11.7.4 INM AND SOIL CARBON SEQUESTRATION
Citrus by the virtue of its extensive cultivation as a key perennial crop in
the world trade, has attracted worldwide investigation from various angles.
