Abstract
The effect of ecological and conventional cropping systems on the population of cellulolytic microorganisms under potato cultivation was evaluated in this study. The 3-year experiment aimed at investigating the development dynamics of microorganisms capable of decomposing cellulose in the soil beyond rhizosphere, in the rhizosphere and rhizoplane. The study indicated that in most cases larger populations of microorganisms occurred under potato cultivation in the ecological system in comparison with the conventional system. Only during the period of flowering, a smaller number of them were isolated from the soil cultivated in the ecological system. More favourable conditions for the development of cellulolytic microorganisms were found both in the rhizosphere and rhizoplane of potato than in the soil beyond the roots, irrespective of the cropping system. Moreover, the date of sampling, corresponding to the potato developmental stages, turned out to be a significant factor affecting the count level. A significant increase in their population was observed during tuber maturity at harvest