Conservation agriculture practices impact on biological and microbial diversity in earthworm cast under maize-wheat system

• Published in: Current research in microbial sciences 2024-01, Vol.7, p.100273, Article 100273
• Main Authors: Angmo, Padma, Sharma, Sandeep, Sidhu, H.S., Saini, K.S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Conservation agriculture; Earthworm cast; from the special issue: Emerging Frontiers in Microbial-Mediated Utilization of Crop Residues for Economically Valuable Biomaterials, edited by Debasis Mitra,Periyasamy Panneerselvam, Govindan Selvakumar and Marika Pellegrini; Permanent bed; Soil enzymes; Zero tillage
• ISSN: 2666-5174; 2666-5174
• DOI: 10.1016/j.crmicr.2024.100273

•Lampito mauritii and Metaphire posthuman species were identified.•Carbon pools and enzymatic activity in earthworm cast soils influenced by permanent beds with crop residue retention.•Less labile carbon, total carbohydrate carbon, phenol oxidase and peroxidase were sensitive to residue management practices. Soil degradation is a major global concern due to its negative impact on soil quality and the sustainability of agricultural resources. The conservation agriculture (CA) approach, which includes three key principles such as zero tillage, retention of crop residue and crop rotation has gained widespread adoption to help mitigate the climate change effects on agricultural soils and meet the growing demand for increased production. Earthworm communities, along with microbial activity and diversity, are highly sensitive to tillage practices. Additionally, microbial activity and diversity quickly respond to different cropping systems, making them effective indicators for detecting short-term changes in soil functioning. We therefore, assess the effects of CA innovative approached after 6-years on biological and microbial diversity within earthworm cast in maize-wheat system (MWS). The treatments consist of PBM-RN0/ZTW-RN0 (permanent beds No-N control-both residues removed and wheat with zero tillage); PBM+RN0/ZTW+RN0 (permanent beds No-N control-both residues retained)-50% of maize stover and 25% of wheat residue retained; PBM-RN120/ZTW- RN120 (permanent beds with 120 kg N ha-1 both residues removed wheat with zero tillage); PBM+RN120/ZTW+RN120 (permanent beds with 120 kg N ha-1 both residues retained and wheat with zero tillage) and FBM-RN120/CTW-RN120 (fresh beds in maize/CT in wheat with 120 kg N ha-1 both residues removed). The result of present study showed that activities of carbon (C) cycle-related enzymes in the cast soils viz., dehydrogenase (DHA), β-glucosidase (β-glu), cellulase, and xylanase were significantly higher under PBM+RN120/ ZTW+RN120 than under PBM-RN0/ZTW-RN0. Specifically, the activities of these enzymes were 21.5, 26.8, and 76.5% higher under the PBM+RN120/ZTW+RN120 treatment, respectively. Moreover, the Alk-P activity was found to be 1.3 times higher in the PBM+RN120/ZTW+RN120 treatment than in the PBM-RN0/ZTW-RN0 treatment. The bacterial, fungal, and actinomycete counts in the cast soil ranged from 6.87 to 7.47 CFU (colony forming units) x 106 g-1 soil, 3.87–3.30 CFU x 104 g-1 soil, and 5.09–5.67 CFU x 104 g-1 soil, respectively.