Investigate the effect of cover crops on soil microbial activity using a custom-made, low-cost CO2 detector

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation was to study the effect of cover crops on soil microbial activity by measuring soil microbial respiration from soil samples collected from the each cover crop systems. A custom-made, low-cost CO2 detector was built and tested as a simple, indirect method of measuring soil microbial activity. One of the most effective ways to prepare the soil for the annual crop production is with cover crops. Three different types of treatments were applied Triticale, L30 and L60 which had a different type of legume ratio. Measurements were taken in order to determine the growth of the cover crops while also the microbial activity. Canopy coverage that was further measured to determine rate of the cover crop growth, quadrat measurements that determined the weed suppression and the number of plant species and CO2 concentration that measured the microbial activity. Measuring the soil respiration through a CO2 detector while enriching the soil organisms and the soil nutrients will determine the importance of cover crops. In our experiment T treatment was the most effective since L30 and L60 treatments had lower results in canopy coverage while L60 had similar results with T in CO2 concentrations.