Contrasting soil microbial responses to fertilization and tillage systems in canola rhizosphere

Information regarding the simultaneous evaluation of tillage and fertilization on the soil biological traits in canola production is not available. Therefore, field experiments were conducted in 2007–2010 in a split plot based on randomized complete block design with three replications. Main plots consisted of conventional tillage (CT); minimum tillage (MT) and no tillage (NT). Six strategies of fertilization including (N1): farmyard manure (cattle manure); (N2): compost; (N3): chemical fertilizers; (N4): farmyard manure + compost; (N5): farmyard manure + compost + chemical fertilizers and (N6): control, were arranged in sub plots. Results showed that the addition of organic manure increased the soil microbial biomass. No tillage system increased microbial biomass compared to other tillage systems. The activities of all enzymes were generally higher in the N4 treatment. The activity of phosphatase and urease tended to be higher in the no tillage treatment compared to the CT and MT treatments.