Abstract

CERVANTES BEYRA, Rafael et al. Effect of the pulp of Coffea arabica L. on the microflora of three units of soils. Rev. Protección Veg. [online]. 2015, vol.30, n.2, pp.115-122. ISSN 1010-2752.

The pulp of Coffea arabica L. (coffee) is the main polluting agent of the Cuban mountain ecosystems. In the last years, it has been used by some farmers as an organic alternative to improve certain soil conditions but with no knowledge of its direct biological implications on the soil. Therefore, the objective of this investigation was to evaluate the effect of coffee pulp application in a 3:1 ratio (75% soil: 25% coffee pulp) on the microorganisms of the soils Alumic Chromic Acrisol (AAC), Humic Eutric Cambisol (CEH) , and Eutric Cambisol (CE). The soil basal respiration (BR), the main functional groups (CFU), and the mineralization rate (MR) were determined as indicators of variations of the microorganism activity. The results showed significantly increases of the CFUs of fungi and actinomycetes stabilizing the losses of respiratory carbon in values similar to the control. The mineralization rate decreased significantly due to the carbon nitrogen ratio (16:1) and the humic substance precursors of the pulp (cellulose and lignin), which assured the permanence of the organic compounds in the soil. The indicators BR, FCU and MR showed better results in the best structured soil units (CEH>CE>AAC) suggesting that the intensity of response of the microorganisms to coffee pulp applications will be influenced by the physical and pedogenic characteristics of the edafic profile.

Keywords : coffee pulp; soil microorganisms; soil units.

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