Use experience of cattle effluents and manure in the Belgorod region

Abstract

In the real farming conditions of the south-west of the Central Chernozem region (Belgorod oblast), it was found that the using local organic fertilizers – cattle effluents and manure, which differ in agrochemical composition and the degree of availability of nutrients, has an unequal effect on soil fertility and crop productivity. The use of cattle litter manure contributed to a significant improvement in soil fertility indicators such as organic matter content (by 0.4% abs.), degree of acidity (by 0.4 units.) and hydrolytic acidity (by 1.32 mmol/ 100 g of soil). Using of cattle effluents led to a significant excess of the agrocenoses productivity (by 1.2 thousand GU/ha or 30.4%) compared to the application of cattle manure. The most responsive crops for the cattle effluents application were sunflower, corn, perennial and annual grasses, which provided the harvest increasing by 23-113%. The use of cattle effluents was more economic effective compared to the application of cattle manure: profit and profitability were 2.9 and 3.1 times higher, respectively, and the cost price was 1.4 times lower.