Reduction of ammonia gas by microbial agent treatment in Chinese cabbage cultivation

Abstract

This study aimed to select the optimal microbial agents for ammonia gas reduction in Chinese cabbage cultivation and evaluate their ammonia reduction efficiency. By selecting the optimum microorganism to reduce ammonia emissions, the ammonia emission reduction efficiencies of the nitrification microorganisms, Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. faecalis and Brevibacillus sp. were 21 and 31%, respectively, which were superior to those of other microorganisms. The best ammonia emission reduction efficiency of the acid-producing microorganisms was 55%. The optimum mixing ratio of microbial agent for removing ammonia gas emitted from NPK-containing soil was: acid-producing microorganism:Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. faecalis:Brevibaillus sp. = 0.70:0.15:0.15. The optimum treatment amount was 500 L/ha, and the optimum number of microbial agents was basal fertilization (also known as pre-planting fertilization) once and additional fertilization three times, for a total of four times. The reduction efficiency of ammonia emissions from NPK-containing soil under optimum conditions in cabbage cultivation was 27% lower than that of the control (only NPK-containing soil). Therefore, the microbial agent developed in this study can be utilized to effectively reduce the emission of ammonia, a secondary fine particle precursor, while maintaining crop yield in agricultural fields. © 2023, The Author(s).