Influence of agro-waste amendment on soil microbial population in relation to plant growth response.

ABSTRACT

Introductions of high yielding inorganic fertilizer are not cheap and leave behind a large amount of dry matter for disposal. Thus there is a need to utilize these plant residues to save fertilizers and maintain a satisfactory level of soil fertility. Hence, with the view of in-situ manuring as well as to recycle the agricultural residue, pot experiments were conducted to study the effect of wheat husk amendments on soil microbial population and seedling vigour index (SVI) of wheat. Results of pot experiment showed the improvement in soil fungal population followed by bacterial and actinomycetal counts. Statistical significant increase in plant growth was also recorded as compared to unamended control, which indicates the practical possibility in utilizing wheat husk for improvement is soil fertility