Pedosphere 26(4): 510--521, 2016
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2016 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Influence of different plant materials in combination with chicken manure on soil carbon and nitrogen contents and vegetable yield |
R. A. OMARI1, H. P. AUNG1, M. HOU1, T. YOKOYAMA2, S. ONWONA-AGYEMAN2, Y. OIKAWA2, Y. FUJII2 and S. D. BELLINGRATH-KIMURA3 |
1United Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Saiwaicho 3-5-8, Fuchu, Tokyo183-8509 (Japan)
2Institute of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Saiwaicho 3-5-8, Fuchu, Tokyo183-8509 (Japan)
3
Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, Institute of Land Use Systems, Eberswalder str. 84, 15374 Muencheberg (Germany) |
| ABSTRACT |
| The use of plant materials as soil amendments is an uncommon practice amongst major farming communities in Ghana, although it is necessary for soil fertility improvement. An examination of the effects of soil amendments is necessary to encourage the use of under-utilized organic resources in Ghana. Thus, a field experiment was conducted using 8 different tropical plant materials mixed with chicken manure as soil amendments for growth of tomato as a test crop. The plant materials included Leucaena leucocephala, Centrosema pubescens, Sesbania sesban, Gliricidia sepium, Mucuna pruriens, Pueraria phaseoloides, Azadirachta indica, and Theobroma cacao. There were two other treatments: one with equivalent amounts of chemical fertilizers and the other with no-fertilizer input (control). Plant materials were mixed with chicken manure to obtain a uniform carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratio of 5:1. Except the no-fertilizer control, all treatments received the same amount of nitrogen (N). To clarify the decomposition pattern of the plant materials in soil, an incubation experiment was conducted using only the plant materials before the field experiment. The Gliricidia treatment released significantly more mineral N than the other plant materials in the incubation experiment. However, the tomato fruit yield was not enhanced in the Gliricidia treatment in the field experiment. The known quality parameters of the tested plant materials, such as total N, total carbon (C), C:N ratio, and total polyphenols, had minimal effects on their mineralization dynamics. Azadirachta showed the best synergistic effect with chicken manure through significantly increasing soil microbial biomass and fruit yield of tomato. This result provides insights into the possible adoption of Azadirachta in combination with chicken manure as a soil amendment in small-scale agricultural holdings. |
| Key Words: C:N ratio, microbial biomass, mineralization pattern, organic material, soil amendment, synergy |
| Citation: Omari, R. A., Aung, H. P., Hou, M., Yokoyama, T., Onwona-agyeman, S., Oikawa, Y., Fujii, Y. and Bellingrath-kimura, S. D. 2016. Influence of different plant materials in combination with chicken manure on soil carbon and nitrogen contents and vegetable yield. Pedosphere. 26(4): 510-521. |
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