Abstract
A greenhouse pot experiment was conducted to determine the effect of agricultural lime and goat manureon soil acidity and maize growth parameters using soils from Kavutiri-Embu County. Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers at the rates of 50 and 70 kg ha-1, respectively, and goat manure at three rates (0, 5 and 10 mg ha-1) and agricultural lime (CaCO3) at six rates (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, and 12.5 mg ha-1) were used for the study. The pot experiment was arranged in a complete randomised design and replicated three times. Maize, variety H513as test crop, was grown for a period of 8 weeks. The results were measured on maize crop parameters (plant heights, root lengths and dry matter biomass) and soil parameters (soil pH and exchangeable acidity). All the biophysical data generated were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the difference between the treatments means separated using the Fischer’s least significant difference at 5% probability level. Linear correlation analyses were done using the Microsoft Excel 2010. Results generally showed that soil acidity decreased with increasing levels of manure and lime. The treatment with 12.5 Mg ha-1 of lime and 10 Mg ha-1 of manure had the best reducing effect on soil acidity and better maize yield performances reflected in the highest pH (6.3), highest root length (41.3 cm), plant height (150.3 cm) and dry biomass weight (755.4 kg ha-1) obtained. Key words: Acid soil, agricultural lime, manure, maize productivity andpot experiment.
Highlights
Soil acidity is a major yield limiting factor for crop production worldwide
Land area affected by acidity is estimated at 4 billion hectares, representing approximately 30% of the total ice-free land area of the world (Sumner and Noble, 2003)
Substantial weathering of soils over millennia has resulted in the leaching of crop nutrient bases followed by their replacement by H, Al, Mn cations which have contributed to acid related stresses on crop production (Okalebo et al, 2009)
Summary
Soil acidity is a major yield limiting factor for crop production worldwide. Land area affected by acidity is estimated at 4 billion hectares, representing approximately 30% of the total ice-free land area of the world (Sumner and Noble, 2003). Acid infertility factors limit crop growth and yield as well as soil productivity in highly weathered soils of humid and sub-humid regions of the world due to deficiency of essential nutrient elements (Akinrinade et al, 2006). Manage soils and where acid forming fertilizers, such as di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and other ammonia fertilizers have been applied continuously to already acidified soils over years (Nekesa, 2007) As these soils suffer in multi-nutrient deficiencies, application of mineral fertilizers has become mandatory to increase crop yields. Kanyanjua et al (2002), carried a liming study on some of these acid soils (pH 4.6) from central Kenya and came up with fertilizer and lime recommendations for the soils The rates, they recommended were rather high that most resource poor farmers in the region cannot afford to purchase. The main objective of this work, was to determine the combined effect of lime and manure on soil acidity improvement and maize productivity
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Management
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
