Fertility Restoration Efficiency of three Contrasting Manure on an Eroded Watershed Ecosystem

Abstract:

The maintenance of fertility of soils is the first condition for any permanent system of agriculture. Fertility restoration evaluation was studied in field and pot experiments to ascertain the effect of compost, poultry manure and NPK as amendment options in reclamation of a degraded watershed. The field studies were conducted on 4 slopes of the watershed in an experiment arranged in a randomized complete block design (RCBD). The pot experiments were carried out on the soils of the unmanaged practice and were arranged in a complete randomized design (CRD) with three replicates. The treatments comprised of compost and poultry manure at the rate of 0tha-1, 10th-1, 20tha-1, 30tha-1 respectively and NPK fertilizer (15:15:15) at the rate of 150kg/ha. Tomato was used as test crop. The data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance and significant mean differences were detected using the least significant difference (LSD). The results of the study showed that fertility restoration of the eroded watershed with different rates (10, 20, and 30tha-1) of compost and poultry manure respectively and 150kg/ha NPK as amendment increased. The amended plots had the best performance and among the rates of manure 30tha-1 rate of poultry manure show ‘superior’ performance. In slope 1 and 2 composts at 10tha-1 produced no significant increase in plant growth, but in slope 3 and 4 composts at 20tha-1 and 30tha-1 produced increases in the number of fruits and fruit length of tomato compared with the control. Amendment with NPK produced higher productivity of tomato in slope 1, 2, 3 and 4 (plain) of the eroded watershed. The findings of the study prove that most watershed require proper management and maintenance if they are to function properly over long term, to strengthen the natural resource base (soil, vegetation cover) and to increase agricultural productivity.