Effects of different organic amendments on the structure of an ultisol in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

Organic materials have been shown to improve soil physical and chemical properties. A 12 weeks field experiment was used to assess the effects of amending soil with organic materials [poultry droppings (PD), maize straw (MS), cassava peelings (CP) and ripe plantain peelings (RPP)] on soil bulk density (BD), total porosity (P), saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and soil moisture retention (SMR). Results showed that Ks, BD, P and SMR were significantly positively affected by all the treatments. At the end of 12 weeks, Ks increased by 508, 386, 344, and 172 percents for RPP, PD, MS and CP respectively. Bulk density dropped from 2.14 to 1.97, 1.98, 2.03, 2.07 Kgm-3 for RPP, PD, MS and CP respectively. The same trend was observed for porosity. For all parameters measured, RPP better improved structure than the other organic materials; from the 6^th week. The faster decomposition of this material, relative to the others, may have contributed to this.

International Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development Vol. 7(1) 2006: 61-66