Evaluation of Mineral and Bacterial Fertilization Influence on the Number of Microorganisms from the Nitrogen Cycle in Soil under Maize

Abstract

In 2006, the influence of different rates of applied mineral fertilizers and their combinations with bacterial inoculants [nitrogen (N)–fixing Klebsiella planticola and Enterobacter spp.] on the number of microorganisms from the N cycle in a Cambisol and the yield of maize was evaluated in this study. The results obtained implied that high rates of mineral fertilizers brought about an increase in the number of fungi and a decrease in the number of Azotobacter spp., oligonitrophiles, ammonifiers, and nitrifiers in soil. Combined application of microbial inoculants and low rates of mineral fertilizers resulted in the greatest increase in the number of Azotobacter spp., oligonitrophiles, and ammonifiers in soil. The greatest number of soil nitrifiers, as well as the grain yield of maize studied, were determined in the variants where combinations of the microbial inoculants and low and high rates of mineral fertilizers were applied.

Keywords:

• Cambisol
• maize
• mineral fertilizers
• N-cycle microorganisms
• N-fixing bacteria

Acknowledgment

The authors are grateful to the Ministry of Education and Science of Republic of Serbia for financial support.