Chicken Litter Soil Amendment Effects on Soilborne Microbes and Meloidogyne incognita on Cotton

The effects of chicken litter incorporated 28, 14, and 0 days before planting on Meloidogyne incognita in cotton and soil organisms were determined in the greenhouse. Treatments consisted of field soil amended with litter at rates of 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, and 1% by weight. At 45 and 90 days after planting, numbers of M. incognita decreased as rates of litter increased. Microbivorous nematode densities increased as litter rates increased only in the first experiment. Plant growth increased as litter rates increased, regardless of when the litter was incorporated, or the presence or absence of M. incognita. Bacterial and fungal CFU fluctuated during both experiments, but generally had positive linear relationships with litter rate. Population densities of M. incognita decreased with increasing bacterial and fungal counts in amended soil. Bacterial genera identified from the litter-amended soil included Arthrobacter, Bacillus, Cellulomonas, Mi-crococcus, Pseudomonas, and Rhodococcus.