JOURNAL of Soil Biology and Ecology 

Impact of fertilizer application based on soil testing and crop response and recommended dose on the abundance of cryptostigmatid mites in the sunflower ecosystem

Author: SHIVAPPA AGADI

Abstract:

Soil mesofauna are essential components of the agroecosystem, contributing to various functions and processes. Without these organisms, the soil would be a sterile medium that could not sustain crop production. The field experiment was conducted to know the impact of fertilizer application based on soil testing and crop response on the soil mesofauna during the Kharif season under the sunflower cropping system. Soil biota consortia were introduced to four treatments viz. (Package of practice (POP) 62.50:90:62.50 kg NPK/ha + 7.5 t of FYM /ha, FYM alone (15 t/ha), Soil test crop response integrated practices (STCR) - 24.22:56.64 kg NK/ha +2.5 t of FYM/ha and STCR inorganic alone (110.46:133.04) kg NK/ha) and remaining four treatments were without introduction of soil biota consortia. Higher mesofaunal abundance (15.08 mesofauna /400 g soil) was recorded in the plot treated with 15 t of FYM/ha + introduced consortia of soil fauna compared to non-consortia introduced treatments. However, the best treatment for mesofauna (T4) recorded lower other Acari but higher other invertebrates, cryptostigmatids, and collembolans than the rest. The maximum mesofaunal population was recorded 90 days after (16.50) sowing. The variation in the relative abundance of soil mesofauna may be due to the availability of their food or host and the moisture content in the soil.

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