Soil Microbiota and Particulars of Formation thereof under Traditional and Organic Farming on Chernozem Soils of Northern Kazakhstan

Abstract

The subject matter of the study is soil microbiota of southern carbonate chernozem and particulars of formation thereof under organic and traditional methods of wheat growing under conditions of Northern Kazakhstan. It has been found that soil microbiota varies with arable farming systems. Application of leguminous and cereal above-ground biomass as organic fertilizers contributed to higher numbers of immobilizers that were twice as high as traditional farming variants. When applied as green manure, sweet clover above-ground biomass increased the number of ammonifying soil organisms (up to 6 million CFU/g a.d.s.), while bromegrass biomass increased the number of immobilizers (83.0 million CFU/g a.d.s.) and fungi (8,0 thousand CFU/g a.d.s.). Cellulose-destroying microorganisms were actively propagating in wheat crops (65.0 CFU/g a.d.s.) where wheatgrass biomass was applied as green manure, while sweet clover biomass, on the contrary, contributed to decrease thereof. Under traditional farming conditions, the introduction of ammonium nitrate into rows when planting crops at a dose of N80 stimulated the development of cellulolytic microorganisms and inhibited the development of ammonifying fungi and bacteria. Ammonifiers and immobilizers were actively propagating with reserve application of ammophos in the fallow at the rate of P40.