Fungal population and diversity in organically amended agricultural soils of Meghalaya, India

Summary

The effect of different organic fertilisers (farm yard manure [FYM]; vermicompost [VC]; plant compost [PC] and integrated compost [INT], i.e. a combination of FYM, VC and PC in a 1:1:1 ratio) on the population and diversity of soil fungi was investigated in a maize-French bean trial. Fungal populations were much higher in organically fertilised plots as compared to the control (CTRL) and showed a decreasing trend in the order FYM>PC>INT>VC>CTRL. Altogether, 122 fungal species and two sterile mycelia were isolated from all the plots of which 25 fungal genera belonged to Deuteromycotina, seven to Ascomycotina, four to Zygomycotina and one to Mastigomycotina. The most common genera isolated from all the plots include Penicillium, Aspergillus, Acremonium, Fusarium, Mortierella, Mucor, Paecilomyces, Talaromyces, Trichoderma and Verticillium. Significant positive correlations between fungal populations and Corg were observed in all the organic amended plots. The organic matter level in the organically managed soil systems can play a pivotal role in fungal growth, sporulation and diversity.