Mobilization of potassium from waste mica by potassium-solubilizing bacteria (Bacillus mucilaginosus) as influenced by temperature andincubation period under in vitro laboratory conditions.

Abstract

An attempt was made to mobilize potassium (K) from a K-bearing mineral (waste mica) inoculated with K-solubilizing bacteria (Bacillus mucilaginosus) as a function of temperature and incubation period under in vitro laboratory conditions. A series of incubation experiments were carried out to study the mobilization of K from waste mica. Destructive samplings were drawn at different periods of incubation and analyzed for pH, total sugar content and NH4OAc-K. The results showed that irrespective of temperature and period of incubation, a significantly higher mobilization of K was recorded in all the treatments when incubation was carried out in the presence of the bacterial strain compared to control. The pH and total sugar content were found to decrease in the presence of Bacillus mucilaginosus as compared to control, while in the presence of the bacterial strain the NH4OAc-K content increased from 12.3 to 46.0%, irrespective of treatments. Thus, it may be concluded that waste mica inoculated with a K-solubilizing strain could be a promising technology to utilize waste mica, and could be used effectively as an alternative source of K-fertilizer for crop production.