Microbial Activity and Cellulose Degraders in Termite Mound Soil

Subi, S.; Sheela, A. Merline

doi:10.20546/ijcmas.2020.907.251

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(24 reference statements)

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“…Due to presence of termite mound soil and relatively high amount of FYM, high dehydrogenase activity was observed in T 7 and T 4 . More or less similar findings were reported by Subi and Sheela (2020) . Lowest dehydrogenase activity was observed in T 5 , most probably because of absence of FYM.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Typically, termite mound soils have an acidic pH which explains the slight acidity of the treatments ( Li et al, 2017 ; Apori et al, 2020 ). However, some other workers had reported pH of the termite mound soil as alkaline ( Dhembare, 2013 ; Subi and Sheela, 2020 ). Contrary to the above information, some studies have reported no significant difference in the pH of termite mound soil and its adjacent soil ( Brossard et al, 2007 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Termite mound soil based potting media: a better approach towards sustainable agriculture

Kathbaruah,

Bhattacharyya,

Borkataki

et al. 2024

Front. Microbiol.

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Termite mound soils are known to possess unique physico-chemical and biochemical properties, making them highly fertile. Considering their rich nutrient content, the objective of the current experiment is to assess the physico-chemical properties and enzyme activities of termite mound based potting media and evaluate theirperformance for further exploration in floriculture. Potting media consisting of termite mound soil (TS) of a subterranean termite, Odontotermes obesus were prepared in 7 different combinations with garden soil (GS), sand (S) and farmyard manure (FYM) and a control (without termite mound soil), i.e., T1 (TS, GS, S, FYM (v:v:v:v /1:2:1:1)), T2 (TS, GS, S, FYM (v:v:v:v / 2:1:1:1)), T3 (TS, S, FYM (v:v:v / 2:1:1)), T4 (TS, GS, FYM (v:v:v / 2:1:1)), T5 (TS, GS, S (v:v:v / 2:1:1)), T6 (TS, S, FYM (v:v:v / 3:1:1)), T7 (TS, S, FYM (v:v:v / 1:1:2)) and control (GS, S, FYM (v:v:v / 2:1:1)). The samples were then analysed in laboratory. Experimental analysis on physico-chemical and biological parameters revealed superiority of T7 (TS, S, FYM (v:v:v / 1:1:2)) in terms of pH (7.15), organic carbon (2.13%), available nitrogen (526.02 kg ha−1), available phosphorus (56.60 kg ha−1), available potassium (708.19 kg ha−1), dehydrogenase activity (18.21 μg TTF g−1 soil day−1), Phosphomonoesterase (PME) activity (46.68 54 μg p-nitrophenol/gsoil/h) and urease activity (3.39 μg NH4-N g−1 soil h−1). Whereas T4 (TS, GS, FYM (v:v:v /2:1:1)) registered superiority in terms of PME activity (50.54 μg p-nitrophenol/gsoil/h), Fluorescein diacetate (FDA) activity (11.01 μgfluorescein/gsoil/h) and Soil Microbial Biomass Carbon (SMBC) (262.25 μg/g). Subsequent to the laboratory analysis, two best potting mixtures (T7 & T4) were selected and their performance was assessed by growing a test crop, Tagetes erecta cv. Inca Orange. Considering the growth parameters, the potting media: T7 was found to be significantly superior in terms of plant spread (39.64 cm), leaf area index (4.07), fresh weight (37.72 g), yield (317.81 g/plant), and diameter (9.38 cm) of flower over T4 & control. The Benefit:Cost (B:C) ratio meaning the ratio of net returns to total cost of cultivation was determined. The B:C ratio of raising marigold flower as potted plant in T7 was 1.10 whereas the B:C ratio of the potting mixture of T7 was 2.52. This shows that T7 potting media is also economically viable choice for commercial purposes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%