Evaluation of the fertility status of agricultural lands in Aydın province, Türkiye

Soil health is vital for the sustainability of agriculture. Therefore, samples were collected from agricultural lands of 5 different districts of Aydın province. In this context, it was determined that the pH values of 61 soil samples collected were between 7.08 and 9.37. When the variation analysis of electrical conductivity (EC) values was analyzed, it was seen that the soils showed a high degree of variability. When the soil samples were analyzed in terms of microbial loads, it was observed that 14.75% of the soil samples were below the healthy soil reference values (6-8 log CFU/g), 3.27% had microbial loads close to the lower limit and 81.98% were microbially healthy. The number of halotolerant bacteria was found to be in the range of 4.3-6.89 log CFU/g in the soil samples. Halotolerant bacteria are important microorganisms in Aydın agriculture because they are stress-resistant bacteria that can promote plant growth under extreme conditions.