Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Enhancement through Co-Inoculation of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus fusiformis with Rice Husk Amendment

ABSTRACT The study was conducted to investigate the influence of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus fusiformis on soil total nitrogen amended with rice husk in the field, at Usmanu Danfodio University Teaching and Research Fadama Farm Kwalkwalawa, Wamakko Local Government Area, Sokoto State Nigeria. Soil samples were inoculated and collected after 42 days at a depth of 0-30cm with the aid of Auger to make a composite from each treatment. Three (3) samples were collected from each treatment making a total of nine composite (9) treatment samples. Samples were analyzed for total nitrogen and organic carbon. The result shows that Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus fusiformis do not differ with the sole application of rice husk, but rice husk differs significantly with the control treatment (P≤ 0.05). Rice husk recorded the highest soil organic carbon with a mean of (6.94 gkg-1) followed by the combination of Rice husk + B. subtilis + B. fusiformis with a mean of (6.46 gkg-1) and control has the lowest mean of (4.91 gkg-1). Rice husk alone and Rice husk + B. subtilis + B. fusiformis recorded the highest mean values for soil total nitrogen with a mean of (0.10 and 0.12 gkg-1) each and control has the lowest mean of (0.06 gkg-1). This indicates Bacillus strains have the potential to be used for sustainable agricultural practices when amended with organic residues.   Keywords: Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus fusiformis, Organic Carbon, Total Nitrogen, Rice husk