Dynamics of Microbial Biomass in a Rainfed Soil Under Wheat Cultivation

A pot experiment was conducted to determine the dynamics of soil microbial biomass in a rainfed soil under wheat cultivation at the University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The treatments applied were: 1) a control (CK), 2) NPK (0.44-0.26-0.18 g pot^-1), 3) farmyard manure (FYM, 110 g pot^-1), 4)poultry manure (PM, 110 g pot^-1), 5) FYM (110 g pot^-1) + NPK (0.44-0.26-0.18 g pot^-1), 6) poultry manure (PM, 110 g pot^-1) + NPK (0.44-0.26-0.18 g pot^-1), 7) FYM (110 g pot^-1) + NPK(S) (0.44-0.26-0.18 g pot^-1 one half of the NPK at sowing and the other half one month after sowing), and 8) PM (110 g pot^-1) + NPK(S) (0.44-0.26-0.18 g pot^-1, one half of the NPK applied at sowing and the other half one month after sowing). The experiment was laid out using a completely randomized design with three replications. Microbial biomass C, N and P contents increased continuously from the beginning of the experiment up to the three-leaf stage. A slight decline was observed at the tillering stage in all treatments except with the organic manures + NPK(S) treatments. After tillering there was an increase in all treatments to the recorded maximum point at the full heading stage in all treatments except with the organic manures + NPK(S) treatments. In the FYM + NPK(S) and PM + NPK(S) treatments; however, there was a continuous increase in microbial biomass up to the heading stage. At the harvesting stage a sharp decline was noted in all treatments. The C:N ratio of microbial biomass in tested soil ranged from 7.8 to 11.3, while C:P ratio of microbial biomass in the tested soil ranged from 22.6 to 35.1 throughout all growth stages of the wheat crop.