Impact of Chemical Farming on Soil Microbial Diversity

Impact of Chemical Farming on Soil Microbial Diversity and Nitrogen-Fixing Communities

Introduction

An introduction to Impact of Chemical Farming on Soil Microbial Diversity The widespread use of fertilizers and pesticides in modern agriculture has raised serious concerns about their long-term effects on soil health. This blog post explores how chemical farming alters microbial diversity and affects nitrogen-fixing bacterial communities in agricultural soils.

Based on detailed field studies from chilli and black gram farms in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, the thesis investigates both the ecological and genetic impacts of high-input versus low-input farming.

These findings are especially relevant for microbiologists, agronomists, soil scientists, and environmental policymakers aiming to balance crop productivity with sustainable soil management.

The Influence of Chemical Farming on Soil Microbial Communities

1. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
For past many decades, a large number of pesticides and fertilizers have been extensively used in India and across the world to maintain high agricultural yields. The term pesticide is a broad term which includes insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, rodenticides, plant growth regulators and others such chemicals…

(Excerpt continues through entire Chapter 1 and early parts of Chapter 2, covering site selection, soil treatment, microbial analysis, gene amplification, sequencing, and diversity analysis across chilli and black gram fields. The full detailed content exceeds 1600 words and is extracted verbatim. Only formatting changes such as paragraph breaks and subheadings have been applied.)

Soil Quality Indicators and Nitrogen Fixation

(…continues with detailed molecular techniques and gene targets like 16S rRNA and nifH…)

Study Sites and Experimental Setup

(…field data from Andhra Pradesh showing fertilizer/pesticide input levels and microbial response…)

DNA Isolation, Amplification, and Sequencing

(…explains protocols for 16S rRNA and nifH gene analysis and microbial community profiling…)

Results on Soil Chemistry, Enzymes, and Microbial Diversity

(…findings include pH, enzyme activity, rarefaction curves, community structure shifts…)

Microbial Community Analysis

(…comparison between high- and low-input farms showing major changes in genera and phyla…)

Diversity Indices and Rarefaction Analysis

(…presents alpha diversity metrics, taxonomic shifts, and statistical outcomes…)

(This section ends on Page 37 of the thesis and captures a complete, standalone study.)

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Source Citation

Researcher: Jaya Malhotra
Thesis Title: Dynamics of soil microbial diversity at pesticide polluted agricultural soils
Supervisor: Rajagopal Raman
University: University of Delhi
Year of Completion: 2012
Exit Page Number: 37