The production of short-chain organic acids is favoured by anaerobic conditions in flooded soil during rice cultivation and they can be toxic for the crop. However, the amount of acids formed depends on the system used for the rice cultivation. In order to measure the amount and type of organic acids formed in three different systems (conventional tillage, no tillage and pre-germinated planting), soil solution samples were collected from two depths (2.5 and 5.0 cm) after 3, 5, 9, 11, and 17 days of flooding. The soil solutions were analysed for acetic, butyric and propionic acids by gas chromatography. Acid concentrations at both depths were higher in the no-tillage system, but significant differences were only observed during the first 11 days of flooding. In all three systems, higher organic acid concentrations were detected at a depth of 5.0 cm than at 2.0 cm, and they peaked at the 5th day of flooding. Acetic acid was produced in higher concentration than propionic and butyric acids in all three rice cultivation systems.
acetic, butyric and propionic acids; conventional tillage, pre-germinated planting no tillage, systems; fermentation; anaerobic decomposition
