A laboratory study was conducted to determine the rate of methane emis
sion and the methanogenic population in an Indian rice soil. Methane e
mission was highest at 37 degrees C. The dry rice soil had a low metha
nogen content but this increased after vice cultivation. Addition of f
armyard manure increased the methane emission, while inorganic fertili
zers suppressed methane emission in uncultivated rice soil. The soil a
fter rice cultivation was a better source of inoculum for biogas produ
ction than the spent slurry from a cattle-waste-based biogas plant.