Agricultural Microbiology

Course-307
Lecture 1

Monika Sultana
Lecturer
• MBIO 307 Agricultural Microbiology 3 Credits
• Background of Agricultural Microbiology: Major group of microorganisms in soil; Microbes on the farm & in food,
Microbiology research in food & agriculture; beneficial & harmful aspects of agriculture microbiology; practical threat
to food & agriculture; plant disease, threatening plant pathogens & their major hosts.
• Microbes as plant pathogens: Introduction; Objectives of plant pathology; involving factors; the concept of disease in
plant; Classification of plant disease; Advantage of classification; Diagnosis of plant disease; Control of plant disease.
• Soil Microorganisms and soil fertility: Role of microbes in soil fertility; Use of microbial metabolites as major
nutrients; Production of growth regulating substances; Production of phytotoxic substances; production of enzymes;
Competitive interaction between plant and microbes.
• Pesticides: Pesticides & pests; classification, types, effects of pesticides; structures of some common pesticides;
pesticide metabolism; Persistence & Recalcitrance; Biopesticides; comparative response of microbes to biocides;
comparison of chemical and microbial pesticides; bacterial candidates for pest control; Intrinsic & acquired bacterial
resistance to biocides; Microbial control of pest.
• Biofertilizers: Biofertilizers & its importance; Types of biofertilizer; Steps for preparing biofertilizer; Quality standard
for biofertilizer; Some specific types of biofertilizers: Rhizobium, Azotobacter; Algal & other biofertilizers;
Cyanobacteria; Azolla; Organic matter decomposing biofertilizers
•  
• Books Recommended:
• An Introduction to Soil Microbiology – M.Alexander
• Soil Microorganisms – T.R.G. Gray & S.T. Williams
• Soil Microorganisms and Plant Growth – N.S. Subba Rao.
• Plant Microbiology – R. Campbell
• Plant Diseases – R.S. Shing
• Plant Pathology – Arios
• Microbial Ecology: A Conceptual Approach – J. M. Lyncy & Poole
• Biological Indicators of Soil Health – C.E. Pankhurs, B.M. Doube & ViV.S.R. Gupta
• Pesticide Microbiology – I.R. Hill & S.J.L. W
Soil
Soil can be defined as “the organic and inorganic materials on the
surface of the earth that provide the medium for plant growth.”
Soils are considered renewable because they are constantly
forming. It has different functions:

 Soils serve as media for growth of all kinds of plants.

 it is a major source of nutrients needed by plants for growth.

 as a habitat for organisms.

 as a means of water storage, supply and purification

 Fertile soils teem with microorganisms, which directly contribute

to the biological fertility of that soil.
Composition of soil
Soil is a material composed of five ingredients —
 
1. Organic matter
2. Minerals
3. Gas
4. Water
5. Living organisms
Organic matter
Minerals
Gas
Water
Living organisms
Types of soil
 Sandy soil
 Clay soil
 Silt soil
 Loamy soil
 Peat Soil
 Chalk soil
Sandy soil

 It has very low nutrients

 Poor in holding water, which makes it hard for the plant’s root
to absorb water
 The poorest types of soil for agriculture and growing plant.
Clay soil

 the densest and heaviest type of soil

 The particles in the clay soil are tightly packed together to each
other with very little or no airspace
 This soil is not suitable for growing plants as it is harder for
moisture and air to penetrate into the soil.
Silt soil

 Smaller than sand but larger than clay

 Silt soil is usually more fertile than other types of soil

 It promotes water retention and air circulation.

Loamy soil

 It is a combination of sand, silt and clay

 This soil is also referred to as agricultural soil

Peat soil

 They are found in peatlands

 often imported into a garden to provide an optimum soil base for

planting

 Peat soil is high in organic matter and retains a large amount of

moisture.
Chalk soil

 Chalk soil is found over limestone beds and chalk deposits that are

located deep underground.

 This type of soil is sticky and hard to work with when wet, and it

can dry out very quickly in the summer.

 Chalk is very alkaline (pH of 7.5 or more on average).

 This high pH is caused by lack of moisture and high lime content,

which can cause stunted growth in plants. Excess lime can also turn

these plants yellow.

What is a soil profile?
The soil is found in layers, which are
arranged during the formation of soil. These
layers are called horizons; the sequence of
layers is the soil profile.

The layers of soil can easily be observed by

their color and size of particles.
The main layers of the soil are 
 Topsoil (A Horizon)
 Subsoil (B Horizon) and
 The parent rock (C Horizon) 

Aside from these three, there are

also the O, E and R horizons. 
Soil organic matter (SOM), soil organic carbon (SOC),
Decomposition, Humus,
Fauna , flora, biota
O-horizon
 The "O" stands for organic matter. It is a surface layer
 It has about 20% organic matter. This horizon is often black or dark brown in color,
because of its organic content.
 Not all soils have an O horizon. It is very common in many surfaces with lots of
vegetative cover, most form in forests or places where there is abundant plant
material.
 This layer is dominated by the presence of large amounts of organic matter such
as dead leaves and surface organisms, twigs and fallen trees, which are partially
decomposed.
 Fresh litter is found at the surface, while at depth all signs of vegetation structure
have been destroyed by decomposition.
 Over time, the O horizon becomes part of the A horizon.
A horizon

• The upper soil horizon is called the “topsoil’’ which is formed

at the surface or below an O horizon.

• It is only between 5 to 10 inches thick and consists of organic

matter and minerals.

• This layer contains dark decomposed organic matter, which is called

humus. Humus enriches the soil with nutrients, aids soil structure and
improves the water-holding capacity of soil.

• In this layer, the seeds germinate and roots of the plants grow. 

• Soil organisms such as earthworms, arthropods, nematodes,
fungi and many species of bacteria and archaea are
concentrated here, often in close association with plant roots.
• This A horizon is the top layer of the mineral soil horizons.
E horizon
 E horizon is the zone of eluviation and generally occurs between the A

and B horizons.

 Leaching or the removal of clays, Fe, Al, and humus occur in this

horizon, leaving a pale, light-colored horizon. 

 This mineral horizon is present only in older, well-developed soils.

B Horizon
 Just below the topsoil lies another layer called subsoil or “B”
horizon which is an accumulation of mostly fine material that is
migrating downwards.
 The B horizon shows significant weathering of the soil particles
along with significant accumulation of iron and other minerals
due to leaching.
 This layer is called the zone of accumulation.
 It is comparatively harder and compact than topsoil.
 It is lighter in color than the topsoil because there is less humus
in this layer.
 This layer is less organic but rich in minerals that are leached

(moved down) from the A or E horizons and accumulated here.

 It may contain high concentrations of silicate clay, iron, aluminum

and carbonates. 

 This horizon often displays a distinct reddish or reddish brown

coloration due to oxidation of the accumulated iron minerals.

 Plant roots penetrate throughout this layer.

C horizon
 C horizon is the weathered parent material. It is the parent material

from which the upper soil layers developed.

 It consists primarily of large rock fragments formed by weathering

of the underlying bedrock.

 Very little organic material is found here.

 This horizon normally displays a lighter color than that of the

overlying horizons.
Bedrock (R horizon)

Bedrock is the unweathered parent material. Granite, basalt,

quart and limestone or sandstone are examples of bedrock
that are designated R.

Bedrock is also a source of nitrogen in earth’s nitrogen cycle.

The weathering of bedrock frees large amounts of nitrogen
that can be taken up by plants and other forms of life.