Application of micromycete (Humicola fuscoatra) to accelerate the decomposition of grain crops straw

Abstract

One of the ways to maintain soil fertility is to use organic fertilizers. One of them can be straw of cereal crops (winter wheat and barley). However, the process of its decomposition can be delayed for several years. It is possible to accelerate the transformation process by using the native strain of cellulosolytic micromycete (Humicola fuscoatra VNIISS 016). Its introduction together with straw before plowing stabilizes agrophytocenosis. The experiments were carried out in laboratory under simulated conditions close to field ones. Scheme of the experiment: 1. Straw; 2. Straw + N (40 mg/4 g, which corresponds to 40 kg/ha); 3. Straw + N + H. fuscoatra + PC (nutritional supplement – molasses) (Kolesnikova M.V., 2014). As a result of the studies, it was established that winter wheat straw without additional components lost 0.86 g in weight (from the initial 4 g), 1.03 g when adding nitrogen fertilizer to the straw, and 1.49 g when using H. fuscoatra. We found that the addition of nitrogen to the straw stimulate the process of its transformation. Straw with nitrogen decompose faster than straw without any additives (by 41.5%). However, the addition of the native strain of micromycete accelerate the process by 48.3%. Barley straw lost 0.82 g in weight, straw with nitrogen fertilizer lost 1.06 g, straw and H. fuscoatra – 1.13 g. Further, the decomposition rate increased in the following row: straw → straw + N, where the speed was 26.7% higher → straw + N + H. fuscoatra, the decomposition rate is – 85.3% higher.