JOURNAL of Soil Biology and Ecology

Impact of enhanced fertilizer application and abiotic factors on the

abundance of soil cryptostigmatids in the maize ecosystem

Author:

NGANGOM UMADEVI

Abstract:

The study investigated the impact of various doses of NPK fertilizer on the abundance of soil cryptostigmatids under rainfed conditions, aiming to achieve different target yields in maize crops with and without the addition of farmyard manure (FYM). The application of 123.74:48.91:55.59 kg N:P:K per hectare, combined with 20.76 tonnes of FYM per hectare, resulted in a significantly higher mean abundance of soil cryptostigmatids (1.92 per 400g of soil) than the other treatments throughout the cropping season. This treatment was comparable to the FYM-based treatments. By contrast, the lowest abundance was recorded in plots treated with a higher dose of fertilizer alone (251.17:113.31:114.35 kg N:P:K per hectare), which produced 0.96 per 400g of soil, similar to the fertilizer-only treatment (1.03 per 400g of soil). During the cropping season, the lowest and highest populations of soil cryptostigmatids were observed before treatment application (0.95 per 400g of soil) and at 75 DAG (3.14 per 400g of soil), respectively. Overall, plots treated solely with fertilizer exhibited a lower abundance of soil cryptostigmatids throughout the experiment. Cryptostigmatids’ abundance had a significant negative relationship with soil moisture but a significant positive correlation with soil temperature. The impact of abiotic factors on cryptostigmatids was 37%. The influence of soil moisture on the abundance of cryptostigmatids ranged from 0 to 23%. Further, the results indicated that a change in the unit of soil moisture would lead to a 0.260-unit decrease in the abundance of cryptostigmatids.

Key words: Abiotic factors, Cryptostigmata , Fertilizers , FYM, Soil moisture

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