| Revista: | Tropical and subtropical agroecosystems |
| Base de datos: | PERIÓDICA |
| Número de sistema: | 000269073 |
| ISSN: | 1870-0462 |
| Autores: | Gichangi, E.M1 Karanja, N.K2 Wood, C.W3 |
| Instituciones: | 1University of Fort Hare, Directorate of Agronomy, Alice. Sudáfrica 2University of Nairobi, Department of Soil Science, Nairobi. Kenia 3Auburn University, Department of Agriculture and Soils, Auburn, Alabama. Estados Unidos de América |
| Año: | 2006 |
| Periodo: | Ago |
| Volumen: | 6 |
| Número: | 2 |
| Paginación: | 57-64 |
| País: | México |
| Idioma: | Inglés |
| Tipo de documento: | Artículo |
| Enfoque: | Experimental |
| Resumen en español | Emplear la cubierta plástica para reducir la pérdida de humedad fue también benéfico para reducir la pérdida de N |
| Resumen en inglés | Livestock manure is a valuable source of plant nutrients for crop production in the Central Kenyan highlands but its quality in terms of available nitrogen (N) is low due to considerable N losses through ammonia volatilization. This study aimed at assessing the potential of agroorganic wastes to reduce N losses from manure heaps during the storage period. Three organic amendments selected from a laboratory simulation experiment were evaluated under farmers’ conditions in Karura, Kiambu District for their ability to reduce N losses from cattle manure heaps. The effect of a polyethylene sheet covering of manure heaps on N retention was also determined. There were eight treatments that comprised three agro-organic amendments (maize stover, coffee pulp and sawdust) and the control, with or without a polyethylene cover. Agronomic effectiveness of the “treated” manure samples and N uptake by maize seedlings was evaluated in a glasshouse experiment. Total N content of manure amended with organic materials ranged from 1.26 to 1.85%. The N in manures with organic amendments at the start and at the end of storage was significantly different (p ≤ 0.05). Cumulative N loss ranged from 1.60 to 6.80 g kg-1 depending on the type of amendment. Nitrogen lost from non-amended manure was 2.74 g kg-1 with polyethylene cover and 6.80 g kg-1 without the polyethylene cover, which represented 19 and 46% of the initial N respectively. Maize growth improved significantly (p≤0.05) with increasing rates of manure irrespective of the organic treatments except for manure amended with sawdust. Treatments that received the recommended rate of N at 100 kg N ha-1 had significantly higher (p≤0.05) biomass (21.55 g plant-1) than the control which produced only 2.78 g/plant. Nitrogen uptake increased with increasing rates of manure and was higher (p≤0.05) with manure amended with coffee pulp. Covering manure heaps to reduce moisture loss was also beneficial in reducing N losses |
| Disciplinas: | Biología, Agrociencias |
| Palabras clave: | Ecología, Fertilización, Agroecosistemas, Trópico, Biofertilizantes, Nitrógeno, Fertilidad del suelo |
| Keyword: | Biology, Agricultural sciences, Ecology, Fertilization, Agroecosystems, Tropics, Biofertilizers, Nitrogen, Soil fertility |
| Texto completo: | Texto completo (Ver PDF) |
