Nair, S.K.Subba Rao, N.S.2014-07-042014-07-042007-02Plant and Soil 1977 v-46 i-3 p-511-520http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/3682Mixed cropping of cacao in coconut plantations improved the microbial activity in the rhizosphere of coconut which may be attributed to an increase in organic matter content of soil due to periodic shedding of cacao leaves. When compared to coconut cultivation without cacao, mixed cropping of coconut with cacao appeared to stimulate the population of bacteria and fungi in the rhizosphere of coconut, including the nitrogen fixing and phosphate solubilising bacteria. The occurrence of indole acetic acid producing Escherichia sp. on the root surface of coconut and the appearance of gibberel-lin(like-substance) producing Aspergillus flavus and A. fumigatus in the rhizosphere were other salient observations made in a pioneering study on the microbiology of the root region of plantation crops under mixed cropping.enArticle