Organic Amendments and Elemental Sulfur Stimulate Microbial Biomass and Sulfur Oxidation in Alkaline Subtropical Soils
Sulfur deficiency arising due to intensive cultivation, use of sulfur free fertilizers and reduction in atmospheric sulfur depositions has become a major issue limiting crop production in many parts of the world. Elemental sulfur could be a good source of available S, but its slow oxidation is a pro...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/11/12/2514 |
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| author | Kouser Majeed Malik Khalid Saifullah Khan Motsim Billah Mohammad Saleem Akhtar Shah Rukh Sadia Alam Asia Munir Azhar Mahmood Aulakh Majid Rahim Muther Mansoor Qaisrani Naeem Khan |
| author_facet | Kouser Majeed Malik Khalid Saifullah Khan Motsim Billah Mohammad Saleem Akhtar Shah Rukh Sadia Alam Asia Munir Azhar Mahmood Aulakh Majid Rahim Muther Mansoor Qaisrani Naeem Khan |
| author_sort | Kouser Majeed Malik |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sulfur deficiency arising due to intensive cultivation, use of sulfur free fertilizers and reduction in atmospheric sulfur depositions has become a major issue limiting crop production in many parts of the world. Elemental sulfur could be a good source of available S, but its slow oxidation is a problem for its efficient use as a sulfur fertilizer. Main objective of the study was to assess the effect of organic amendments (OA) and elemental sulfur (ES) on microbial activities, sulfur oxidation and availability in soil. A laboratory incubation experiment was carried out for a 56 days period using two sulfur deficient alkaline soils. Organic amendments (OA), i.e., farmyard manure (FYM), poultry litter (PL) and sugarcane filter cake (SF), were applied (1% <i>w</i>/<i>w</i>) with or without elemental sulfur (ES) at 50 mg kg<sup>−1</sup>. Application of ES alone or in combination with OA significantly increasedCO<sub>2</sub>-C evolution, microbial biomass, and enzyme activities in the soils, except dehydrogenase activity (DHA) which was not affected by ES application. Combined application of OA and ES had a more pronounced effect on microbial parameters compared to ES or OA applied alone. Ratios of dehydrogenase activity-to-microbial biomass C and arylsulfatase activity-to-microbial biomass C were high in ES+FYM and ES+SF treatments, respectively. Elemental sulfur got sufficiently oxidized resulting in significant improvement in plant available S. Relatively more ES was distributed into C-bonded-S than ester bonded-S. Increase in sulfur availability in ES+OA amended soils was the combined function of sulfur oxidation and mineralization processes through improved microbial activity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:40:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9bbd32185f3440949a71760440a0d263 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:40:44Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-9bbd32185f3440949a71760440a0d2632023-11-23T03:23:06ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952021-12-011112251410.3390/agronomy11122514Organic Amendments and Elemental Sulfur Stimulate Microbial Biomass and Sulfur Oxidation in Alkaline Subtropical SoilsKouser Majeed Malik0Khalid Saifullah Khan1Motsim Billah2Mohammad Saleem Akhtar3Shah Rukh4Sadia Alam5Asia Munir6Azhar Mahmood Aulakh7Majid Rahim8Muther Mansoor Qaisrani9Naeem Khan10Soil Fertility Survey and Soil and Water Testing Institute, Rawalpindi 46300, PakistanInstitute of Soil Science, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi 46300, PakistanDepartment of Life Sciences, Islamabad Campus, Abasyn University, Islamabad 46000, PakistanInstitute of Soil Science, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi, Rawalpindi 46300, PakistanNational Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25130, PakistanDepartment of Microbiology, University of Haripur, Haripur 21120, PakistanSoil Fertility Survey and Soil and Water Testing Institute, Rawalpindi 46300, PakistanSoil and Water Conservation Research Station, Sohawa, Jhelum 49230, PakistanSoil and Water Conservation Research Station, Sohawa, Jhelum 49230, PakistanDepartment of Bioscience and Technology, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan 64200, PakistanDepartment of Agronomy, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USASulfur deficiency arising due to intensive cultivation, use of sulfur free fertilizers and reduction in atmospheric sulfur depositions has become a major issue limiting crop production in many parts of the world. Elemental sulfur could be a good source of available S, but its slow oxidation is a problem for its efficient use as a sulfur fertilizer. Main objective of the study was to assess the effect of organic amendments (OA) and elemental sulfur (ES) on microbial activities, sulfur oxidation and availability in soil. A laboratory incubation experiment was carried out for a 56 days period using two sulfur deficient alkaline soils. Organic amendments (OA), i.e., farmyard manure (FYM), poultry litter (PL) and sugarcane filter cake (SF), were applied (1% <i>w</i>/<i>w</i>) with or without elemental sulfur (ES) at 50 mg kg<sup>−1</sup>. Application of ES alone or in combination with OA significantly increasedCO<sub>2</sub>-C evolution, microbial biomass, and enzyme activities in the soils, except dehydrogenase activity (DHA) which was not affected by ES application. Combined application of OA and ES had a more pronounced effect on microbial parameters compared to ES or OA applied alone. Ratios of dehydrogenase activity-to-microbial biomass C and arylsulfatase activity-to-microbial biomass C were high in ES+FYM and ES+SF treatments, respectively. Elemental sulfur got sufficiently oxidized resulting in significant improvement in plant available S. Relatively more ES was distributed into C-bonded-S than ester bonded-S. Increase in sulfur availability in ES+OA amended soils was the combined function of sulfur oxidation and mineralization processes through improved microbial activity.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/11/12/2514arylsulfatase activityC-bonded sulfurdehydrogenase activityester sulfatesulfur fractionssulfur oxidation |
| spellingShingle | Kouser Majeed Malik Khalid Saifullah Khan Motsim Billah Mohammad Saleem Akhtar Shah Rukh Sadia Alam Asia Munir Azhar Mahmood Aulakh Majid Rahim Muther Mansoor Qaisrani Naeem Khan Organic Amendments and Elemental Sulfur Stimulate Microbial Biomass and Sulfur Oxidation in Alkaline Subtropical Soils Agronomy arylsulfatase activity C-bonded sulfur dehydrogenase activity ester sulfate sulfur fractions sulfur oxidation |
| title | Organic Amendments and Elemental Sulfur Stimulate Microbial Biomass and Sulfur Oxidation in Alkaline Subtropical Soils |
| title_full | Organic Amendments and Elemental Sulfur Stimulate Microbial Biomass and Sulfur Oxidation in Alkaline Subtropical Soils |
| title_fullStr | Organic Amendments and Elemental Sulfur Stimulate Microbial Biomass and Sulfur Oxidation in Alkaline Subtropical Soils |
| title_full_unstemmed | Organic Amendments and Elemental Sulfur Stimulate Microbial Biomass and Sulfur Oxidation in Alkaline Subtropical Soils |
| title_short | Organic Amendments and Elemental Sulfur Stimulate Microbial Biomass and Sulfur Oxidation in Alkaline Subtropical Soils |
| title_sort | organic amendments and elemental sulfur stimulate microbial biomass and sulfur oxidation in alkaline subtropical soils |
| topic | arylsulfatase activity C-bonded sulfur dehydrogenase activity ester sulfate sulfur fractions sulfur oxidation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/11/12/2514 |
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