Agriculture Commons^™

Responses Of Soil Heterotrophic Respiration And Microbial Biomass To Organic And Conventional Production Systems, Kripa Dhakal, Madhav Parajuli, Siyang Jian, Jianwei Li, Dilip Nandwani

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

The effects of organic and conventional production systems on crop productivity have been greatly explored, but their effects on soil microbial processes were often neglected. A comparative field study of organic and conventional production systems was conducted at the Tennessee State University research farm to determine soil heterotrophic respiration and microbial biomass carbon. Leafy green vegetables were grown in a conventional production system in an open field, and they were grown in an organic production system, using three different row covers (agribon cloth, insect net, and plastic), and in an open field. Soil samples (0-15cm) were collected from the two …