Evaluation of the cellulolytic activity depending on soil tillage system and meteorological conditions under sunflower agrocoenoses

Abstract

The aim of this work was to evaluate cellulolytic activity depending on soil tillage system, weather conditions in a longterm crop rotation under sunflower agrocoenoses. The study was carried out at the Didactic Station „Chetrosu” of the State Agrarian University of Moldova on carbonate chernozem with sandy loam texture. The cellulolytic activity was determined according to the Misustin (1978) method based on the principle of cellulose decomposition under aerobic conditions by incorporating linen tissue in the 0-30 cm soil layer. The researches has shown that soil cellulolytic activity under conservation tillage system - No-till is less with 15-20%, comparative with plowing variant during MayJune period - characterized by sufficient rainfall and moderate temperatures. The July-August dry weather conditions have inhibited cellulolytic activity under conventional soil tillage from low to very low, being similar to the No-till variant, where cellulolytic activity also diminished with 10% from May-June to July-August period. The incorporation of linen tissues at different depths showed that cellulolytic activity is higher in the 20-30 cm layer and it is directly affected by the soil moisture. en