Conservation Tillage and Organic Matter management on Soil Structure

Organic materials are important resources for the improvement of soil physical and chemical properties. This study was carried out to examine the impact of tillage and organic matter on some soil structural indices. The study was designed in a split-plot Randomized Complete Block with four replications. Hoe tillage and no-tillage were assigned to the main plot, whilst the subplot comprised cowpea residue, cattle manure, maize residues, elephant grass and control (no organic residue applied). The soil physical parameters measured were bulk density, total porosity, volumetric water content and aggregate stability. Bulk density was lower in the 2013 minor season than in the 2014 major season for all the treatments (1.34 Mg m-3–1.51 Mg m-3). Porosity ranged from 42.98–49.28% in the second season (2013 minor season). The cattle manure treated plots produced the highest volumetric water content of 20.25% and the control gave the lowest value of 16.20% at the end of the last growing season (2014 major season). The highest aggregate stability (74.91%) was recorded on cattle manure plots whilst the control gave the lowest value (71.11%). Crop residues were identified to be good source of organic material for the improvement of soil physical properties.