Effects of poultry manure on structure and some indicators of fertility in tropical soils

Abstract

ABSTRACT Adequate use of poultry manure under tropical conditions can contribute to the recovery of degraded soils. The objective was to evaluate the effect of poultry manure on structure and some indicators of fertility in tropical soils such as Inceptisol Mollic Eutrudept Ustept, Inceptisol Ustept, Rhodic Eutrustox, Pellic Vertisol Typic Hapluster and Aquic Plinthic Kandiustalf. Five experiments were established under controlled conditions, one in each soil, using samples of 0–20 cm soil depth. The treatments were: control without the application of poultry manure, 2 t ha−1 of poultry manure, 4 t ha−1 of poultry manure, 6 t ha−1 of poultry manure, 8 t ha−1 of poultry manure, 10 t ha−1 of poultry manure. The results showed increases in pH and organic matter that contributed to greater availability of phosphorus and potassium, as well as improvements in soil structure and stability. The best results of the application of poultry manure were obtained using 6 t ha−1. The R2 values of 0.93 (pH versus assimilable potassium), 0.77 (organic matter versus structure factor) and 0.67 (pH versus assimilable phosphorus) indicated that poultry manure can achieve effects on the recovery of degraded soils regardless of the type and content of clay.