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SUMMARYThree different types of organic materials viz berseem hay, farm yard manure and wheat straw at two different rates were applied to an alluvial sandy loam soil and incubated at 30°C to investigate their rate of decomposition as well as their effect on the development of soil microflora i.e. bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi and Azotobacter.Berseem hay decomposed rapidly in the initial stages but after 30 days wheat straw + N and wheat straw alone released more CO2. FYM showed an uniform and steady rate of decomposition.Microbiological changes showed a fluctuating trend. In general, maximum increase in bacterial, aetinomycete and fungi population was observed at 30 and 90 days period, followed by the lowest activity at 60 and 120 days. However, again an increasing trend was observed after 120 days of incubation period. Berseem hay showed the highest zymogenic effect in tile initial stages. FYM had marked influence on the fungal population while wheat straw with and without nitrogen showed a decreasing trend. Azotobacter population was appreciably increased by the addition of wheat straw alone. Other treatments including wheat straw + N recorded a slight effect.Chemical analysis at the end of the experimental period indicated favourable effect of organic materials on humic acid content, organic carbon, total nitrogen and available nutrients viz nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulphur. FYM increased organic carbon by 77~o over control followed by wheat straw 75%. This suggests that the addition of FYM and crop residues has a positive effect on the maintenance of organic matter in the soil.The effect of different levels of organic materials showed only quantitative difference. In-general, no marked variations were observed on the pattern of CO~ evolution, microbiological and chemical changes.

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