Abstract:In order to explore the effect of nitrogen application on the number of alfalfa soil microorganisms under the condition of low soil nutrients and high salinization in desert irrigation area of Northwest China,alfalfa ‘Gannong 3’ was used as material and 5 nitrogen levels (0 kg/hm2,51.75 kg/hm2,103.5 kg/hm2,155.25 kg/hm2,and 207 kg/hm2) were tested in the field for two years (2016 and 2017).The effects of different nitrogen application treatments on soil total nitrogen,organic matter,pH value,alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen content of alfalfa,and the number of soil microorganisms were studied,and the correlation between soil nutrients and microorganisms was analyzed.The results showed that nitrogen application could increase the content of organic matter and alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen in alfalfa soil and decrease the pH value of soil.In this study,when the amount of nitrogen application was 51.75 kg/hm2 and 103.5 kg/hm2,the contents of organic matter and alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen in alfalfa soil were the highest,which was 15.7 g/kg、17.89 g/kg and 41.8 mg/kg、65.2 mg/kg in two years,respectively,and the number of soil microorganisms (bacteria,fungi and actinomycetes) in alfalfa soil was the highest.Soil total nitrogen,alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen,organic matter,and pH value were positively correlated with the number of fungi,bacteria,and actinomycetes,and soil organic matter showed an extremely significant positive correlation with fungi and bacteria (P<0.01),a significant positive correlation with actinomycetes (P<0.05),and PH was significantly positively correlated with actinomycetes (P<0.05).Therefore,when the amount of nitrogen application is 51.75 kg/hm2 and 103.5 kg/hm2,it can effectively improve the physical and chemical properties of soil and increase the number of soil microorganisms.