Summary
Most probable number of ammonium oxidising bacteria in soil has been estimated without the need to carry out chemical tests to determine the production of nitrite or nitrate in dilution tubes. The medium used contained phenol red which changes colour from pink to yellow as the oxidation of ammonium to nitrate decreases the pH. This makes it possible to determine growth visually. An incubation period of 8 weeks at 25°C was sufficient to obtain maximum estimates of ammonium oxidising bacteria in the soils tested.
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References
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Sarathchandra, S.U. A simplified method for estimating ammonium oxidising bacteria. Plant Soil 52, 305–309 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02184569
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02184569