PEAT MICROBIAL FUNCTIONAL DIVERSITY IN PINEAPPLE PLANTATION

Quantification of peat microbial functional diversity in pineapple plantation area is needed to evaluate the response of long-term agricultural managed land. A total of three pineapple plantation in Pontian was chosen for this study. BiologEcoplate™ system was used to evaluate microbial functional diversity. The enumeration of aerobic culturable microorganism was performed using total plate count. Microbial activity, species richness, and aerobic culturable bacteria of PM1 were higher than PS. Microbial catabolic diversity was found not significant in the sampling location. Correlation analysis showed that microbial catabolic diversity was strongly associated with pH. The abundance of aerobic culturable fungi was also strongly associated with culturable actinomycetes. It is concluded that pH shaped the microbial functional diversity in peat by shifting the microbial community through selection and adaptation of microbes that can function in peat.