Results:
Bacterial population in bulk soil, loosely and strongly adhered
soil, and root interior under three fallow cycles jhum field
crops based on culturable approaches: The bacterial populations (log
cfu g-1 soil) were not influenced by the media, so
they are pooled for the following analyses. The bacterial population was
greatest in the SARS, followed by the LARS and BS that were similar to
one another; RI populations were the least (F = 156, p <
0.001; Fig. 1). Broadly, the 8-year fallow had significantly greater
populations than the 5-year with the 20-year intermediate (F = 3.94, p
< 0.05) excepting in RI where the 20-year fallow had the
greatest populations (niche x age interaction: F = 10.4, p <
0.001). Although the crop had a minimally significant effect on
bacterial populations (F = 3.05, p = 0.05), the SARS population for rice
was less than the other crops, whereas the RI was more (crop x niche
interaction: F = 13.4, p < 0.001) and maize had the least
bacteria under 20-year fallows whereas arahar had most under this aged
fallow (crop x age interaction: F = 5.12, p < 0.001) (Fig 1
a-d).