Effect of organic manure and fertilizer on the abundance of collembola in soybean cropping system

Collembola represents one of the most abundant groups in soils, play an important ecological role, viz., nutrient cycling, decomposition of organic matter and soil formation. It acts as bioindicators of environmental quality. A field experiment was conducted at GKVK, Bengaluru. Soil samples were drawn to extract mesofauna from before application of treatment up to 300 days after germination. The results revealed that best treatment forcollembola abundance was recorded in 20 t of FYM (5.59 & 1.92 collembola/400 g soil) and T3 (3.13 & 1.79 collembola/400 g soil) and followed by the plot treated with 17.5 tonnes of FYM + 25% recommended fertilizer (3.33 & 1.61/ collembola/400 g soil) both in cropping and non cropping season. Collembola population was significantly high at 60 DAG and lowest in 120 DAG. It may be due to better availability of food, optimum moisture and temperature in the soil.