Development of microbial-fortified rice straw compost for aerobic rice cultivation

Abstract

Rice production consumes lots of water. Due to increasing water scarcity, research on aerobic rice cultivation has been intensified. Poor root anchorage, unavailable phosphorus (P), low soil organic matter and blast disease caused by Pyricu/aria oryzae are the major constraints of aerobic rice cultivation systems. A study was carried out with the aim to inoculate commercially prepared rice straw compost (RSC) with a consortium of microbes in order to produce a microbial-fortified product, and evaluate its bio-efficacy on rice blast severity,growth, yield and soil health of rice variety M4 using an aerobic cultivation system.