Effects of Poultry Manure on Some Soil Chemical Properties and Nutrient Bioavailability to Soybean

Organic manures are known to be rich sources of both macro and micro nutrients of the crop. They also help in improving the physical status of the soil. Pot experiments were carried out to determine the effects of poultry manure on some soil chemical properties pH, organic C, available P, exchangeable Ca, Mg, K, Na, and Effective Cation Exchange Capacity i.e. ECEC) and dry matter yields, plant heights, concentrations of N, P and K in plant tissues of soybean plants. Five soil samples collected from research farms in Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Odeda, Ayetoro, Ibadan, Ikenne in South Western Nigeria, were used for the screen house pot experiment. Treatments consisted of five rates of poultry manure (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10 t ha-1) and 100 kg ha-1 of NPK 20:10:10 fertilizer as basal application. The pot experiments were conducted at the Research Farm of FUNAAB. Experimental design was Completely Randomised Design (CRD) with three replicate. Soybean (TGx 1448-2E) was grown for three consecutive cycles of seven weeks per cycle and both soil and plant samples were collected and analysed. Application of poultry manure significantly increased organic carbon, exchangeable bases and effective cation exchange capacity in the soils, concentrations of N, P and K in plant tissue. The study concluded that application of poultry manure increased available nutrients, increased nutrient uptake and improved dry matter yield in soybean.