Microbial diversity in the sandy soil of Nara Thar desert Khairpur, Sindh, Pakistan

ABSTRACT

The microbial diversity was studied by Standard Plate Count and Direct Root Inoculation in the Nara Desert eco-region soil Khairpur, Sindh, Pakistan. It was found that the bacterial count was 200000 to 280000 per gram of soil whereas fungal count was 84000 to 110000. Among the bacterial diversity it was observed that there was existence of Bacillus sp., and halophilic Gram negative rods and cocci and five species of fungi belonging to three genera viz, Aspergillus, Alternaria and Cunninghamii were present. Hence more exploration is needed to recover many other micro-organisms and their relation with various plants and people of this eco-region