title: Effect of long-term application of manure and fertilizer on biological and biochemical activities in soil during crop development stages.
abstract: A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of six long-term (34-year) fertilizer and farmyard manure (FYM) treatments (Control, N, NP, NPK, NPK+S, NPK+FYM) and three physiological stages of wheat growth on the microbial biomass carbon (MBC), nitrogen (MBN) and dehydrogenase, mineralizable N and phosphatase activities in soil. It was found that a balanced application of NPK+FYM gave the highest values for the measured parameters and lowest at the control. Values were generally highest at tillering, followed by the flowering and dough stages. A significant positive interaction between fertilizer treatments and physiological stages of wheat growth was observed, being highest at maximum tillering due to application of NPK+FYM. Stepwise regressions have revealed that grain yield of wheat was significantly associated with mineralizable N at tillering (R(2)=0.80), MBC at flowering (R(2)=0.90) and alkaline phosphatase activity (R(2)=0.70) at dough stages of wheat growth.
authors.affiliation: Division of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi 110 012, India.
authors.forename: Asit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mandal
authors.forename: Ashok K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Patra
authors.forename: Dhyan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Anand
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Swarup
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ebhin Masto
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria; D018533:Biomass; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000254:growth & development; D005308:Fertilizers; D005658:Fungi; D008372:Manure; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis*; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014908:Triticum / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D008372:Manure; D012987:Soil; D002244:Carbon; D010088:Oxidoreductases; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases; D009584:Nitrogen