Combination Of Farmyard Manure Research Articles

Carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics under continuous cultivation as influenced by farmyard manure and inorganic fertilizers in the savanna of northern Nigeria

Changes in the carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) status of a savanna Alfisol under continuous cultivation complemented with farmyard manure and inorganic fertilization for 45 years were determined. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of farmyard manure (D), N + P and N + P + K fertilizers and their combinations on soil quality under continuous cultivation. Six field plots from the long-term DNPK experiment at Samaru were sampled for the study: D, N + P, N + P + K, D + N + P, D + N + P + K fertilized plots, a control plot with no fertilization and a native site soil. Continuous cultivation caused significant losses of C, N and P. The N + P or N + P + K fertilization could not mitigate these losses. Losses of N and P were mainly in organic forms. However, combination of farmyard manure with N + P and N + P + K fertilization enabled C, N and P to be maintained equal to, or greater than, the native site soil. It was concluded that farmyard manure applied alone, or in combination with N + P or N + P + K fertilization, was effective in maintaining soil quality under continuous cultivation in the savanna. In contrast, continuous inorganic fertilization was deleterious to soil quality because of depletion of organic matter, the reservoir of plant available N and P in weathered, tropical soils.

Methane fluxes in aerobic soils

Aerobic soils are an important sink for methane (CH4), contributing up to 15% of global CH4 destruction. However, the sink strength is significantly affected by land management, nitrogen (N) fertilizers and acidity. The rates of uptake from the atmosphere of both enhanced (10 ppmv) and ambient (2 ppmv) concentrations of CH4 were measured in laboratory incubations of soil cores under controlled conditions taken from sites in the U.K. and Germany. The most rapid rates of uptake were measured in soil from deciduous woodland at pH 4 (measured in water). Extended (150 years) cultivation of land for arable crops reduced uptake rate by 85% compared to that in the same soil under an adjacent woodland. The long-term application of ammonium (NH4)-based fertilizer, but not nitrate (NO3)-based fertilizer, completely inhibited CH4 uptake, but the application for the same period of farmyard manure (FYM) that contained more N than the fertilizer had no inhibitory effect. Where a combination of FYM and inorganic fertilizer was applied there was a reduction in methane uptake rate compared to plots receiving solely FYM.Autoclaving showed that the uptake of CH4 was microbially mediated. The most likely causes of the inhibitory effects seen are (i) insufficient concentrations of CH4 in situ to activate methane monooxygenase; (ii) the direct inhibition of CH4 oxidation by NH inf4 (sup+) ions; (iii) the suppression of methanotrophs by NH4-based fertilizers; (iv) the requirement of methanotrophs for a stable soil architecture which is incompatible with the disturbance caused by regular arable cultivation.

Net change in organically bound halogens in relation to soil pH

The total amount of organically bound halogens was determined in soil samples from the Palace Leas meadow hay plots, Northumberland, UK. These plots have been amended with different combinations of farmyard manure, potassium chloride, ammonium sulphate or nitrate since their establishment in 1897, resulting in, among other things, substantial pH differences between the plots. It was found that the amount of organically bound halogens increased significantly with decreasing pH. Net changes in amounts of organohalogens were also studied in soil obtained from a coniferous forest in southern Sweden. The collected soil was divided into four sets of samples, which were incubated in a climate chamber and subjected to different treatment regimes that influence soil pH. Significant changes in amounts of organically bound halogens were detected in three of the four sets of samples, resulting in significantly increasing amounts with decreasing pH. However, although the amount of organically bound halogens detected was related to soil pH in both the field and the experimental study, the net changes observed in the latter investigation were not directly related to soil pH. This shows that net changes in the amount of organically bound halogens in soil are caused by complex processes, and that further studies are needed to clarify the nature of the observed relation between soil pH and amounts of organically bound halogens.

Effects of organic manure on solubility and mobility of different phosphate fertilizers in two paddy soils

The solubility and mobility of three phosphate fertilizers [superphosphate (SP), Ca-Mg phosphate (Ca-Mg-P) and diammonium phosphate (DAP)] with or without combination of farmyard manure (FYM) and/or farmyard manure juice (FYMJ) in two paddy soils (Ultisol and Entisol) from the Zhejiang Province of China were determined. Incubation experiments were conducted under controlled greenhouse conditions in the Institute of Agricultural Chemistry, Bonn University, Germany. The results showed that water soluble P and Olsen P in both the application band and the adjacent zones (10 and 20 mm from the application band) was highest with DAP, and lowest with Ca-Mg-P. Both FYM and FYMJ increased water soluble P (100–300%) and Olsen P (80–300%) for the application band in both soils. Moreover, the combination of FYM significantly increased water soluble P and Olsen P for the adjacent zones (20 mm for the Ultisol and 10 mm for the Entisol), but such effects were not significant in combination with FYMJ. Consequently, the main effect of FYM is due to organic substances from decomposition rather than organic compounds in the FYMJ. Also, the combination of FYMJ with SP and DAP significantly increased the pH value in the application band. The pH in the adjacent zone (10 mm) was slightly increased by the combination of FYM with each of three P fertilizers. The solubility and mobility of phosphate in soils differed greatly among phosphate fertilizers. The combinations of organic manure with mineral phosphate fertilizers increased solubility and mobility of phosphate in both paddy soils, especially in the Ultisol.

Effect of combinations of organic materials and nitrogen fertilizer on growth, yield and nitrogen uptake of rice

SummaryIn a 2-year study, the growth and yield of lowland rice increased significantly with the combined use of organic materials and N fertilizer in an acid-lateritic soil. Application of farmyard manure (FYM) or water hyacinth compost (WHC) at 10 t/ha along with paddy straw (PS) at 2·5 t/ha increased grain yield by 28%, similar to the increase given by 30 kg N/ha as fertilizer. The combination of FYM and WHC with or without PS produced yields equivalent to those using 50–60 kg/ha N as fertilizer urea. Uptake of N increased but the recovery of applied N decreased both with the application of organic materials and with increasing N. Organic materials considerably improved the fertility status of the soil, as measured by % C and available N, after crop harvest, whereas N fertilizer made no impact on fertility build-up.

Results from experiments measuring the effects of large amounts of fertilizer and of farmyard manure on main-crop potatoes grown in sandy soil at Woburn, Bedfordshire

SUMMARYThe largest yields of potatoes in the Woburn Reference Experiment were obtained by giving both farmyard manure (FYM) and fertilizers, rather than fertilizers alone; an explanation was sought in experiments made on the coarse sandy loam there from 1968–71. Each year, single and double amounts of NPK fertilizer (supplying 250 or 500 kg N/ha plus P and K) were incorporated, either deeply or shallowly, into the seed bed. From 1969, FYM also was tested at rates giving the same amounts of N, similar amounts of K, but more P than the fertilizers; it was tested both alone and with fertilizers.FYM was less effective than fertilizer when given alone. The combination of FYM and fertilizer gave a larger yield than the single amount of fertilizer and a larger yield than the double amount of fertilizer incorporated shallowly, but a smaller yield than the double amount of fertilizer incorporated deeply, which gave the largest yield each year.The NPK contents of the potato tubers were used to construct nutrient balance sheets; large residues of N, P and K remained in the soil after harvest. Winter wheat was grown to value these in 1971 and 1972. Fertilizer residues increased only straw yields, but FYM residues increased yields of both grain and straw. Both kinds of residues were less effective than freshly applied N, so most of the N leached during winter.The yield of saleable tubers was increased, not decreased, by the double amount of fertilizer.