Soil samples collected from two termite mound soils in Anna University campus, Chennai, Tamil Nadu were characterized for the various parameters such as pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total organic carbon (TOC), Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus(P) and Potassium (K)and microbial activity. The dehydrogenase enzyme activity was found to be 25 and 23mg TriphenylFormosan (TPH) mg/g/h respectively for the two termite mound soils. Further, the presence of cellulose degrading organisms was confirmed by the clearing zones (about 20mm diameter) produced on Agar medium supplemented with Carboxy Methyl Cellulose(CMC) and the population was observed to be 25 and 20 x 106Colony Forming Units(CFU)/ g soil (dry weight basis). By Gram staining, it was confirmed that the bacterial species belonged to Gram negative. |
