The effect of plant probiotic (sapropel) on garden strawberries and on soil microorganizms

Many scientists say that sapropel accumulated in nature, or lake sludge, is unique and valuable sediment. Sapropel is a complex material of organic and mineral origin. Sapropel is found in many Lithuanian lakes. Due to the chemical and physical properties of sapropel, it is appropriate to use it as a fertilizer or probiotic for plants and soil improvement. The aim of the research work was to determine the influence of the complex of organic and mineral substances - the plant probiotic (based on sapropel) on strawberry yield, leaf area, leaf chlorophyll index as well as to determine its influence on the major quantities of soil elements, to evaluate the abundance of microorganisms and species composition in soil. Field experiment was conducted in garden from May 22 in 2017 and finished in 31 of August of 2018 in Lithuania. During the research period, the chlorophyll index of the garden strawberry was the highest at the beginning and end of the fruit fecundity, when the plant probiotic of 5 l m-2 was used. This level of probiotic increased the chlorophyll index by 6.0 and 81.0%. Increasing the probiotic content from 5 l m-2 to 10 l m-2 revealed a tendency of increasing leaf area. At the beginning of the strawberry fruit yield, using the plant probiotic 5 l m-2, there was the highest average yield. After using the plant probiotic 5 l m-2 at the end of the fruit yield, the lowest average yield was achieved. The highest total amount of microorganisms was determined in the soil sample with probiotic additive 10 l m-2 and lowest was in the controlAgronomijos fakultetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta