| Abstract: | The dynamics of microbial biomass and mineral nitrogen (N) during two growth stages were compared in soils under different fertilization treatments. At stem elongation, the fertilizer system had more N in the mineral pools, whereas manure and integrated systems had more N in the microbial biomass, indicating shifts in N pools between the two systems. At the flowering stage, integrated (manure + fertilizer) and manure systems had more N in two pools, indicating release of plant-available N from the microbial biomass. The carbon (C) / N ratio of the microbial biomass was significantly greater in manure and integrated treatments than in fertilizer treatments. Soil mineral N was significantly positively correlated with seed yield at the stem elongation stage, whereas it was positively correlated with soil microbial biomass C at the flowering stage. Stepwise regressions revealed that seed yield was significantly associated with mineral N at stem elongation and microbial biomass N at the flowering stage. |
