Soil Bacterial and Fungi Cell Abundance and the Influence of Light Intensity, Rhizobium Inoculation, and Nitrogen Nutrient Amendments when Cicer arietinum L. Seeds are Included

The study involved comparing inoculated and non-inoculated Cicer arietinum L. plants. The experiment focused on understanding the impact of various conditions on microbial colonization in the rhizosphere. Depending upon the nitrogen nutrients provided, bacterial populations can increase in abundance for a few days in response and to changes in soil moisture, soil temperature, or carbon substrate. It was hypothesized that by including Rhizobium nitrogen fixing bacteria into the rhizosphere host legume seed, Cicer arietinum, compared to that of a non- inoculated host legume, bacterial cell counts and fungi/mold cell counts will range higher in CFU/g. Also, soils were both native and autoclaved with or without nitrogen nutrient, Rhizobium inoculation, and low or high light intensity. These methods collectively contribute to answering the hypothesis by offering conclusions on the effects of individual and combined variables. It is important to understand the overall microbial communities within soil and the changes the occur when variables are under different conditions. The hypothesis was supported by the resulting bacterial cell and fungi/mold cell counts along with physicochemical characteristics tested. Contrary to the hypothesis, the highest fungi/mold CFU was observed in conditions with rhizobium, nitrogen nutrient, light yellow light, and non-autoclaved soil.