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Effect of Sewage Sludge on Microbial Activity in an Old, Abandoned Minesoil¹

ABSTRACT

The effect of lime, fertilizer, and sewage sludge (50 and 100 kg ha^–1) upon microbial activity and growth of sparsely distributed tall fescue (Festuca arundinaceae Schreb.) on an old, acidic, infertile sandy loam (Typic Udispolents; loamy-skeletal, mixed, acid, mesic) minesoil was evaluated. Respiration rate and activities of amylase, urease, and phosphatase were used as indices of microbial activity. When compared with the control, lime significantly increased respiration rate, had no affect upon amylase and urease activities, and significantly reduced phosphatase activity. Fertilizer significantly increased respiration rate and amylase activity, but significantly decreased urease activity. Phosphatase activity was not affected by fertilizer applications. Lime plus fertilizer significantly increased respiration rate and amylase activity, had no affect upon phosphatase activity, while it drastically reduced urease activity. Sludge at both rates of application in conjunction with lime and fertilizer (S₁LF, S₂LF) are only compared with the lime-fertilizer treatment. Both S₁LF and S₂LF significantly increased respiration rate and urease activity; S₂LF was significantly more effective than S1LF. Amylase activity was significantly increased by both S₁LF and S₂LF, although there was no difference between the two treatments. The S₁LF had no affect upon phosphatase activity, whereas S₂LF caused a significant activity increase. All treatments produced significant increases in tall fescue yield. Fertilizer was significantly more effective than lime. The fertilizer and the lime-fertilizer treatments were about equally effective. Both S₁LF and S₂LF produced yields that were significantly greater than the lime-fertilizer treatment. The S₂LF had a significantly greater effect upon yield than did S₁LF.

Key Words: amylase activity • copper • phosphatase activity • respiration • urease activity

¹ Contribution of the Div. of Plant & Soil Sciences, West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV 26506. Published with the approval of the Director of the West Virginia Agric. & Forestry Exp. Stn. as Scientific Paper no. 1913. This work was sponsored in part by the WVU Mining & Mineral Res. Inst. under project no. MI8050R.

² Graduate assistant, West Virginia Univ., presently graduate assistant, Dep. of Agronomy, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, New York, and associate professor, Div. of Plant & Soil Sciences, West Virginia Univ., Morgantown.

Received for publication July 30, 1984.