Abstract only

Microflora population and diversity are influenced by various management practices. The various species of microflora affect organic matter decomposition and also cause various plant diseases. Some of them are also known for their antagonistic activity against plant pathogens. Hence, population and diversity of soil mycoflora in rice ecosystem was studied by dilution plate technique under conservation agriculture in a Calciorthent (free CaCO3, 33%). The plots were under no till (NT) or conventional till (CT) management with residues retained (+) or removed (-). Under conventional tillage plots in rice (puddled), transplanted, dry-seeded broadcast and wet pre-germinated seeded were considered.|Under conservation tillage plots, dry direct seeding was done on flat as well as beds. Sesbania was grown in half of each plot which was killed after 30 days of sowing by 2-4 D (brown manuring). The soil samples were collected from each plot before and after rice crop. The numbers of fungal species isolated from NT plots were relatively lower compared to CT, but they were more abundant. The highest number of culturable fungal population (22.07 x 104 cfu g43 4th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture - February 4-7, 2009|Session 1.1 1 of soil) was observed in NT (+) on bed, followed by NT (+) on flat (15.87 x 104 cfu g-1 of soil), while CT (-) (wet seeded or dry seeded broadcast) had least fungal population. Brown manuring was found to favour fungal population in rice cultivation under NT (+) plots (flat and bed). Aspergillus and Penicillium along with other fungal species were more frequently distributed among different zero tillage practices, while the conventional system favoured the population of Geotrichum, Monilia, Fusarium and Mycelia sterilia. Hence, it appears that NT (+) favours the population of particular group of beneficial fungi at the end of the rice crop, whereas the conventional system harbours diverse range of fungal population.

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CIMMYT Staff Publications Collection