Changes on Soil Biological Activity With Respect To Irrigation, Mulch and Calcium Application

Water resources diminishing over the time due to the global warming; therefore, the effects of prospective drought on soil biological activity, which is important components of soil fertility, should be evaluated for sustainable food production. Long and severe periods of drought are expected for the Mediterranean ecosystems in the near future. Long-term storage of water in the soil has a vital importance in terms of soil fertility and plant growth. Besides well-known benefits, mulch is also used for water conservation in the soil. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of irrigation, mulch applications and different calcium doses on some microbial activity parameters of soil under greenhouse melon cultivation conditions. The experimental design consists of 3 mulch applications as control (M0), gray color mulch (MG) and black color mulch (MB); 3 irrigation level as 50%, 75% and 100% of Clas-A pan evaporation amount in the greenhouse and 5 Ca doses as 0, 50, 100, 200 and 300 kg ha-1. Results revealed that mulch application reduced soil respiration. The CO2 formation was 168 μg CO2-C g soil-1 day-1 in control application whereas it was 298 in MB. The lowest microbial biomass carbon (166 μg C g soil-1 day-1) and dehydrogenase activity (14.7 μg TPF g soil-1 day-1) were found in MB.

Changes on Soil Biological Activity With Respect To Irrigation, Mulch and Calcium Application

Water resources diminishing over the time due to the global warming; therefore, the effects of prospective drought on soil biological activity, which is important components of soil fertility, should be evaluated for sustainable food production. Long and severe periods of drought are expected for the Mediterranean ecosystems in the near future. Long-term storage of water in the soil has a vital importance in terms of soil fertility and plant growth. Besides well-known benefits, mulch is also used for water conservation in the soil. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of irrigation, mulch applications and different calcium doses on some microbial activity parameters of soil under greenhouse melon cultivation conditions. The experimental design consists of 3 mulch applications as control (M0), gray color mulch (MG) and black color mulch (MB); 3 irrigation level as 50%, 75% and 100% of Clas-A pan evaporation amount in the greenhouse and 5 Ca doses as 0, 50, 100, 200 and 300 kg ha-1. Results revealed that mulch application reduced soil respiration. The CO2 formation was 168 μg CO2-C g soil-1 day-1 in control application whereas it was 298 in MB. The lowest microbial biomass carbon (166 μg C g soil-1 day-1) and dehydrogenase activity (14.7 μg TPF g soil-1 day-1) were found in MB.

___

  • Bek Y., 1983. Research and Experimental Methods. Cukurova University. Agriculture Faculty Lecture, 92, Adana.
  • Bouyoucos G.J., 1951. A recalibration of the hydrometer method for making mechanical analysis of soils. Agronomy Journal 43: 434-438.
  • Caglar, K.O., 1949. Soil Science. University of Ankara, Agricultural Faculty Press Nr 10, p 230 (in Turkish).
  • Derartu Wodajo, D., 2015. Effects of compost application rates and mulch thickness on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Yield, quality and soil physicochemical properties under salt affected soil of dugda district of oramia region. Msc. Thesis. Jimma University. P.1-10. Ethiopia.
  • Dick, W.A. and M.A. Tabatabai, 1993. Significance and potential uses of soil enzymes, pp: 95-127, In B. Metting (ed.), Soil Microbial Ecology, Marcel Dekker, New York.
  • Dogan, K., Sariyev, A., Gok, M., Coskan, A., Tulun, Y., Sesveren, S., 2013. Effect of solarization under different applications on soil temperature variation and microbial activity. J. Food Agric. Environ. 11, 329–332.
  • Isermayer H., 1952. Eine Einfache Methode zur Bestimmung der Bodenatmung und der Karbonate im Boden. Z. Pflanzenernehr. Bodenkd. S 56.
  • Kahlon, M.S. and R. Lal, 2011. Enhancing green water in soils of South Asia. J. Crop Imp. 25: 101–133.
  • Katan, J., Greenberger, A., Laon, H., Grinstein, A., 1976. Solar heating by polyethtlene mulching for the control of diseases caused by soilborne pathogens. Phytopathology 66, 683–688.
  • Kumar, S., Chaudhuri S. and. Maiti, S.K., 2013. Soil Dehydrogenase Enzyme Activity in Natural and Mine Soil. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 13 (7): 898-906, 2013.
  • Ohlinger R., 1993. Bestimmung des BiomasseKohlenstoffs mittels Fumigation-Exstraktion. In:Schinner, F., Ohlinger, R., Kandler, E., Margesin, R. (eds.). Boden biologische Arbeits methoden. 2. Auflage. Springer Verlag. Berlin, Heidelberg.
  • Oz H., Coskan A., Atilgan A. 2016, Effect of different plastic cover materials and biofumigation to soil organic matter decomposition in greenhouse solarization. Scientific Papers. Series A. Agronomy, Vol. LIX, ISSN 2285-5785, 127-129.
  • Pahlow, M., Krol, M.S., Hoekstra, A.Y., 2015. Assessment of measures to reduce the water Footprint of cotton farming in india. Value of water research report series no. 68. Twente. P. 1-14.
  • Schlichting E., Blume E., 1966. Bodenkundliches Prakticum. Paul Parey Verlag, Hamburg, Berlin.
  • Stapleton, J.J., 2000. Soil solarization in various agricultural production systems. Crop Protection 19, 837–841.
  • Steinmetz, Z., Wollmann, C., Schaefer, M., Buchmann, C., David, J., Tröger, J., Muñoz, K., Frör, O., Schaumann, G.E., 2016. Plastic mulching in agriculture. Trading short-term agronomic benefits for long-term soil degradation?. Science of the Total Environment 550 (2016) 690–705
  • Thalman A., 1967. Uber die mikrobielle Aktivitaet und ihre Beziehungen zur Fruchtbarkeitsmerkmalen einiger Ackerboden unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Dehydrogenase aktivitaet (TTC-Reduktion) Diss. Giessen (FRG).
  • U.S. Salinity laboratory staff, 1954. Diagnosis and Improvement of Saline and Alkaline Soils, USDA No: 6.
  • Wild A., 1993. Soils and Environment: An Introduction. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University. Press. 287 p
Ziraat Fakültesi Dergisi-Cover
  • ISSN: 1304-9984
  • Yayın Aralığı: Yılda 2 Sayı
  • Başlangıç: 2006
  • Yayıncı: Isparta Uygulamalı Bilimler Üniversitesi