Cattle manure and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer application effects on soil hydraulic properties and maize yield of two soils of Murewa district, Zimbabwe

This study set out to determine the effects of cattle manure and inorganic N‐fertilizer application on the hydraulic properties and maize yield of a clay and sandy soil in a smallholder farming area of Zimbabwe. Four fields classified as homefields (HF: more fertile and closer to homesteads) and out...

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Main Authors: Dunjana, N, Nyamugafata, P, Nyamangara, Justice, Mango, Nelson
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Wiley 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/51655
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author Dunjana, N
Nyamugafata, P
Nyamangara, Justice
Mango, Nelson
author_browse Dunjana, N
Mango, Nelson
Nyamangara, Justice
Nyamugafata, P
author_facet Dunjana, N
Nyamugafata, P
Nyamangara, Justice
Mango, Nelson
author_sort Dunjana, N
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description This study set out to determine the effects of cattle manure and inorganic N‐fertilizer application on the hydraulic properties and maize yield of a clay and sandy soil in a smallholder farming area of Zimbabwe. Four fields classified as homefields (HF: more fertile and closer to homesteads) and outfields (OF: less fertile and further from the homesteads) were selected on clay and sandy soil. They were subjected to four treatments, control (no fertility amendment), 5, 15 and 25 t/ha cattle manure + 100 kg/ha N (as ammonium nitrate) for 7 years. A two‐way randomized complete block design was used with fertility and field type as the two factors. Clay soil hydraulic properties, which included density of macropores with a diameter >300 μm, unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, steady‐state infiltration rate, moisture retention under low suction and maize grain yield, were significantly improved (P < 0.05) by fertility management compared with the control and were generally comparable between the HF and OF. Fertility management significantly improved maize grain yield on sandy soils but did not enhance hydraulic parameters, thereby indicating poor responsiveness in structural build‐up. On the other hand, significantly different hydraulic parameters between the sandy soil HF and OF suggested effects of other factors not related to soil fertility and field type treatments. We therefore concluded that application of a high rate (25 t/ha) of cattle manure and inorganic N‐fertilizer is beneficial for fertility restoration to the degraded OFs with associated comparable hydraulic properties on HFs and OFs on clay soil, unlike on sandy soil.
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spelling CGSpace516552025-03-13T09:44:00Z Cattle manure and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer application effects on soil hydraulic properties and maize yield of two soils of Murewa district, Zimbabwe Dunjana, N Nyamugafata, P Nyamangara, Justice Mango, Nelson soil soil fertility nitrogen fertilizers yields maize cattle soil hydraulic properties drought resistance suelo fertilidad del suelo fertilizantes nitrogenados rendimiento maiz ganado bovino propiedades hidráulicas del suelo tolerancia a la sequia pollution This study set out to determine the effects of cattle manure and inorganic N‐fertilizer application on the hydraulic properties and maize yield of a clay and sandy soil in a smallholder farming area of Zimbabwe. Four fields classified as homefields (HF: more fertile and closer to homesteads) and outfields (OF: less fertile and further from the homesteads) were selected on clay and sandy soil. They were subjected to four treatments, control (no fertility amendment), 5, 15 and 25 t/ha cattle manure + 100 kg/ha N (as ammonium nitrate) for 7 years. A two‐way randomized complete block design was used with fertility and field type as the two factors. Clay soil hydraulic properties, which included density of macropores with a diameter >300 μm, unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, steady‐state infiltration rate, moisture retention under low suction and maize grain yield, were significantly improved (P < 0.05) by fertility management compared with the control and were generally comparable between the HF and OF. Fertility management significantly improved maize grain yield on sandy soils but did not enhance hydraulic parameters, thereby indicating poor responsiveness in structural build‐up. On the other hand, significantly different hydraulic parameters between the sandy soil HF and OF suggested effects of other factors not related to soil fertility and field type treatments. We therefore concluded that application of a high rate (25 t/ha) of cattle manure and inorganic N‐fertilizer is beneficial for fertility restoration to the degraded OFs with associated comparable hydraulic properties on HFs and OFs on clay soil, unlike on sandy soil. 2014-12 2014-11-29T04:52:24Z 2014-11-29T04:52:24Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/51655 en Limited Access Wiley Dunjana, N.; Nyamugafata, P.; Nyamangara, J.; Mango, Nelson. 2014. Cattle manure and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer application effects on soil hydraulic properties and maize yield of two soils of Murewa district, Zimbabwe . Soil Use and Management Published online.
spellingShingle soil
soil fertility
nitrogen fertilizers
yields
maize
cattle
soil hydraulic properties
drought resistance suelo
fertilidad del suelo
fertilizantes nitrogenados
rendimiento
maiz
ganado bovino
propiedades hidráulicas del suelo
tolerancia a la sequia
pollution
Dunjana, N
Nyamugafata, P
Nyamangara, Justice
Mango, Nelson
Cattle manure and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer application effects on soil hydraulic properties and maize yield of two soils of Murewa district, Zimbabwe
title Cattle manure and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer application effects on soil hydraulic properties and maize yield of two soils of Murewa district, Zimbabwe
title_full Cattle manure and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer application effects on soil hydraulic properties and maize yield of two soils of Murewa district, Zimbabwe
title_fullStr Cattle manure and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer application effects on soil hydraulic properties and maize yield of two soils of Murewa district, Zimbabwe
title_full_unstemmed Cattle manure and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer application effects on soil hydraulic properties and maize yield of two soils of Murewa district, Zimbabwe
title_short Cattle manure and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer application effects on soil hydraulic properties and maize yield of two soils of Murewa district, Zimbabwe
title_sort cattle manure and inorganic nitrogen fertilizer application effects on soil hydraulic properties and maize yield of two soils of murewa district zimbabwe
topic soil
soil fertility
nitrogen fertilizers
yields
maize
cattle
soil hydraulic properties
drought resistance suelo
fertilidad del suelo
fertilizantes nitrogenados
rendimiento
maiz
ganado bovino
propiedades hidráulicas del suelo
tolerancia a la sequia
pollution
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/51655
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AT nyamangarajustice cattlemanureandinorganicnitrogenfertilizerapplicationeffectsonsoilhydraulicpropertiesandmaizeyieldoftwosoilsofmurewadistrictzimbabwe
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