ABSTRACT
This chapter determines the soil biological factors which influence the loss of 2,4-D degrading capacity of the A. xylosoxidans strain in regard to microbial competition. It attempts to determine the role of microbial competition on activity of an inoculated strain in varying soil conditions allowing the growth of both microorganisms. The first condition permitted the microbial competitors and the inoculated strain to proliferate, since they were immediately introduced into soil after fumigation. In the second condition, the growth of both microorganisms was more limited than in the first condition, inasmuch as they were introduced into fumigated soil which had been incubated for 15 days in the dark at 28°C before the treatments. Finally, the third condition provided a proliferation for the microbial competitors.
