Comparative Effectiveness of KSB, Chemical K Fertilizer and Biotite on Soil K-fractions and Rhizospheric Microbial Activities under Maize Crop (Zea mays L)
Anupam Dube *
Department of Soil Science, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University, 273009, India.
Bihari Ram Maurya
Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi- 221 005, India.
Anamika Nepali
Department of Agronomy, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi- 221 005, India.
Kanhaiya Lal
Department of Agronomy, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kishanganj, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Soils contain more K than any other nutrient; nevertheless, most of the K is inaccessible for plant absorption. In crop production, chemical fertilizers have been associated with several unfavorable outcomes that have a significant detrimental influence on environmental sustainability. Potassium-solubilizing bacteria (KSB) solubilize K-bearing minerals and transform insoluble K into soluble forms, which can be absorbed by plants. Therefore, solubilizing insoluble K in a plant-available pool using K-solubilizing bacteria could be an alternative and viable way to sustain crop production and maintain good soil health. A field experiment was conducted to quantify the changes in rhizospheric K fractions and soil microbial activity in maize crops. The treatments comprised of T1: Control; T2: KSB1; T3: 50% RDK; T4: 75% RDK; T5: T5 75 % RDK+25% through Biotite+ KSB; T6: 75% RDK + 25% Biotite; T7: 50% RDK + 50% Biotite + KSB1; T8: 50% RDK + 50% Biotite; T9 100% RDK. In this study, it was found that combining 75% RDK+25% RDK with biotite and KSB resulted in a better crop yield than using 75% RDK+25% RDK through biotite alone. The recommended dose of potassium (RDK), microbes introducing biotite into soil, affects K dynamics in soil by improving water-soluble, exchangeable, non-exchangeable, and total K pools compared to fertilizer K. Therefore, bio-intervention with waste mica could be an effective and viable method for solubilizing insoluble K into a soluble form, which can be used as a K fertilizer to maintain crop yields and soil K.
Keywords: Seed inoculation of KSB, biotite, fertilizer K soil microbial population, enzymatic activities, potassium fraction