Abstract
A biological decomposter received from Agrochemical and In-organics Division, Ameropa AG, Basal, Switzerland was tested on maize growth during the spring of 1985. Its soil application with rice straw plus 150 kg N ha-1 as urea was found to be superior to straw plus fertilizer without decomposter for maize growth. It appears from the data that soil application of this product has a yield increasing effect explanable to rapid nutrient recycling in a high intensity agricultural production system when crops follow in quick succession.
INTRODUCTION
Application of raw farm yard manure, strawy materials and crop stulables left after harvesting a crop have frequently created unfavourable growth enviro-merit for the following crop resulting primarily from microbial immobilization of plant nutrients (Pinsk et al., 1946; Hussain et al., 1978). In order to elimina-te such unfavourable condition, incorporation of nitrogen fertilizer in soil is practised which helps in biochemical degradation of organic materials and even-. tually release of N and other nutrients for optimum plant growth (Finch et al, 1946).
A product named decomposter consisting of pure bred bacteria and fungi for rapid clecomposting of all organic materials into natural fertilizer was rece-ived for testing from Agrochemical and Inorganics Ameropa AG, Basal, Switzerland. The efficiency of this product was evaluated in a field experiment on maize during 1985.
MATERIALS AND META
The experiment consisted of the following treatments T--, Control T2 = Rice straw
