Viability of bionutrition on organic carbon and microbial metabolism in soil cultivated with ‘Palmer’ mango

ABSTRACT Mango (Mangifera indica) cultivation holds economic importance and needs efficient nutrient management practices. Due to high costs of chemical fertilizers, sustainable alternatives, such as remineralizers and biofertilizers, are crucial for ensuring nutrition and maintaining soil quality. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of remineralizers and biofertilizers, applied either alone or in combination with chemical fertilizers, on the content of organic carbon, humic substances, and microbial activity in the soil cultivated with ‘Palmer’ mango trees in the São Francisco Valley. Conducted from 2022 to 2024 in Petrolina, Pernambuco state, Brazil, the experiment employed a randomized block design with four treatments and five replicates. The treatments included: T1 (control), T2 (conventional management), T3 (remineralizers + biofertilizer), and T4 (50% chemical fertilizers + 50% remineralizers + biofertilizer), where T1 received no fertilizer application and T2 consisted of chemical fertilizers only. The evaluation encompassed the content of total organic carbon, humic substances, basal respiration, and microbial biomass. The collected data were subjected to analysis of variance to assess significant effects using the F test, with treatment comparisons conducted via Tukey’s test (p ≤ 0.05). Results indicated that all treatments enhanced contents of organic carbon and humic and fulvic acids in soil. Notably, microbial biomass showed efficiency degrading organic compounds when chemical fertilizers were applied. The combination of 50% chemical fertilizers with 50% remineralizers and biofertilizer (T4) yielded optimal results in terms of basal respiration and microbial biomass, establishing it an effective strategy to increase soil carbon, promote mango development, and reduce costs.