Impact of conventional and biodynamic compost on chemical and biological properties of soil in chickpea

A field experiment was conducted to study the impact of conventional and biodynamic compost on chemical and biological properties of soil in chickpea, during rabi 2017-18 on the field of Agronomy farm section, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth, Akola. It was low in available nitrogen and phosphorus and medium in organic carbon, high in available potassium and alkaline in reaction. The experiment was laid out in randomized block design with seven treatments and three replications. Treatments consisted of application of compost viz., Control (T1), BD compost 5 t ha-1 (T2), T2 + Soil conditioner 500 (T3), T2 + Soil conditioner 501 (T4), T2 + Soil conditioner 500 + 501 (T5), FYM 5 t ha-1 (T6) and Vermicompost 2.5 t ha-1 (T7). The results of experiment showed that among chemical properties of soil pH, EC, organic carbon and available NPK significantly influenced by different treatment. The significantly lowest pH, EC and highest organic carbon were found with application of vermicompost 2.5 t ha-1. Similarly, available NPK was found maximum in treatment vermicompost 2.5 t ha-1. The microbial count viz., fungi, bacteria, actinomycetes population in rhizosphere of chickpea was found maximum with application of vermicompost 2.5 t ha-1. However, the minimum microbial population in rhizosphere of chickpea was recorded with the control (T1).