PHYTOTOXIC SUBSTANCES FROM SOIL MICROORGANISMS AND CROP RESIDUES

Authors

T.M. McCalla, Soil and Water Conservation Research Division, United States Department of Agriculture, and Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska
F.A. Haskins, Soil and Water Conservation Research Division, United States Department of Agriculture, and Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

June 1964

Comments

Published in BACTERIOLOGICAL REVIEWS Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 181-207.

Abstract

The role of organic matter in the growth of plants has been a subject of much investigation and controversy since the sixteenth century. During the early era, decomposition of plant residues and green and animal manures provided a primary source of minerals for plant growth. In addition, beneficial effects on soil structure and water-holding capacity were attribute to the presence of organic matter. With the development of agricultural chemistry culminating in the work of Liebig in the nineteenth century, it was discovered that plants could make satisfactory growth in the absence of added organic matter if suitable kinds and amounts of inorganic nutrients were supplied. However, persistent efforts were made by various investigators and lay groups to emphasize the important role of organic matter, rather than inorganic fertilizers, in soil fertility and plant growth. Because of the complexity of the problem and lack of suitable techniques, no satisfactory solution to the controversy was obtained during Liebig's time.