JOURNAL of Soil Biology and Ecology

Does applying a higher dose of NPK fertilizer affect the activity of soil macrofauna in the maize cropping system?

Author:NGANGOM UMADEVI

Abstract :

The impact of different approaches to soil nutrient application to get higher yields on the activity of soil macrofauna was carried out in a maize crop   under a rainfed ecosystem. There were noticeable variations in soil macrofauna activity across different treatments, cropping season and durations. Soil macrofauna abundance was significantly higher in plots treated with 251.17:113.31:114.35 kg N:P: K/ha (65.11/trap), which was comparable to plots treated with 150:75:50 kg N:P: K/ha + 10 tonnes FYM/ha (32.18/trap) and the control treatment (44.88/trap) during the cropping season. Conversely, the lowest population was trapped in plots treated with fertilizer alone (173.32:93.66:97.96 kg N:P: K/ha) (22.07/trap). However, a higher abundance of soil macrofauna was recorded in the STCR approach (target yield of 110q/ha) with 50% fertilizer application (123.74:48.91:55.59 kg N:P: K/ha) + 50% FYM application (20.76 tonnes FYM/ha) (71.92/trap) compared to other treatments during the non-cropping season. The lowest population was observed in plots treated with 251.17:113.31:114.35 kg N:P: K/ha (25.53/trap), which was similar to the control (30.76/trap).

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