Abstract
The poor quality of cow dung in Ghana resulting from the opportunistic feeding mode of cattle impedes its adoption due to high quantities needed for application. This calls for nutrient optimization of cattle manure with inexpensive locally available sources of organic inputs that could enhance its quality. Though large volumes of crop residues and other agro-wastes are produced on-farm, they are underutilized and mostly a nuisance. Major food crops take approximately, 44 %, 42 % and 56 % of the total nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), respectively and are found in crop residues. There is therefore the need to develop appropriate technologies for utilizing agro-wastes by transforming them into useful “resources” with potentially available plant macro and micronutrients. Common agro-wastes in Ghana include cocoa pod husk (CPH), palm kernel cake (PKC), cattle manure (CM) and poultry manure. Hence, this review sought to explore the use of crop residues and agro-minerals to improve the quality of manure and consequently its fertilizer value for soil fertility improvement and increased crop yield. The review presented an assessment of resource potentials of some crop residues and local agro-mineral as a means of enhancing the quality of CM. Using published data, the review has identified that PKC, rock phosphate (RP) and CPH have high potential for improving the N, P and K contents of CM, respectively. In conclusion, it recommends the need to extensively explore the potential of other commonly available organic resource materials for their efficacy to improve the fertilizer value of cattle manure.
Highlights
Low soil fertility has been identified as the major biophysical cause for the declining rate of crop production in most sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, including Ghana (Sanchez, 2002)
In order to satisfy the demands of the rising human population and enhance food security, replenishment of the degraded agricultural soils is imperative as the exacerbated decline in soil fertility with its consequent suboptimal crop yields has been a major crop production constraint in diverse agro-ecologies over the years
Composting cattle manure with locally available materials such as cocoa pod husk (CPH), palm kernel cake (PKC) and rock phosphate (RP) agro-mineral would enhance the fertilizer value of manure and subsequently decrease the quantity needed for application
Summary
Low soil fertility has been identified as the major biophysical cause for the declining rate of crop production in most sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, including Ghana (Sanchez, 2002). The poor quality of cattle manure, for example, significantly impedes its adoption for application (Vanlauwe and Giller, 2006) resulting in high quantities needed for application This calls for optimization of cattle manure using inexpensive, locally available organic inputs that could enhance its quality. Composting cattle manure with locally available materials such as cocoa pod husk (CPH), palm kernel cake (PKC) and rock phosphate (RP) agro-mineral would enhance the fertilizer value of manure and subsequently decrease the quantity needed for application. This review highlights recent advances on soil fertility trends in SSA, especially Ghana and presents an assessment of the resource potentials of some crop residues and a local agro-mineral as a means of enhancing the quality of cattle manure
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