Role of Soil pH on the Microbes in Mulberry Saplings under Temperate Conditions

The pH of the soil initially was high in each bed then, it gradually came down after 30 days to the required level. After ninety days, the pH of the experimental plots became stable within the experimental range. The data on survivability was recorded after 90 days of plantation of Chinese white cuttings under varied pH levels. Maximum survival was recorded in treatment T₃ and T₄. The lower pH was having high impact on the survival percentage. Higher pH plots showed less mortality as compared to low pH plots. AM fungal spore population was determined by wet sieving method. The results showed that spore count was maximum at optimum pH at 6.2–6.8 (50–60 spores/100g soil) and the root colonization was not affected with any variability of pH. Bacterial and fungal CFU was determined after serial dilution at 10⁻⁵ and 10-6 dilutions. The bacterial CFU was maximum at T₃ with CFU of 1.46/g soil. Fungal CFU also showed similar results with maximum value at T₃ with CFU of 1.5/g soil. T₁ observed the lowest bacterial and fungal CFU. Roots of plants were harvested and fresh weight was measured. Also, the root volume was measured with volumetric method. The results obtained showed higher root biomass in T₃ and T₄ resulting in more root volume as compared to rest of the treatments. It seems that the nutrient uptake and microenvironment has directly affected the microbial population and could reflect in integrated nutrient management, which has direct implications on productivity and benefit to stakeholders.