OPTIMIZATION OF MANURE LEVELS AND APPLICATION DEPTH FOR ENHANCING SOIL PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES UNDER SALINE CONDITIONS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55766/sujst11111Keywords:
Organic Fertilizer Machine, Organic Residues, Soil Physicochemical Properties, Soil SalinityAbstract
A field experiment was conducted in 2015 at the Al-Hartha Research Station, Iraq, to evaluate the effects of animal manure application rate, placement depth, and application method on soil salinity and physico-chemical properties in a silty loam soil under drip irrigation. The field was plowed perpendicularly, and the experiment was arranged in a split–split plot design within a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Treatments included three manure application rates (0, 20, and 40 t ha⁻¹), three application depths (10, 20, and 30 cm), and two application methods (mixing and manure placement depth ). Corn (Zea mays L.) was used as the test crop, and all plots received equal amounts of NPK fertilizers. At the end of the growing season, soil samples from the 0-30 cm depth were collected to determine EC, soil pH, BD, and soil water content. The application of 40 t ha⁻¹ manure combined with manure placement depth from 10-30 cm reduced soil EC 4.63 to 5.87 dS m⁻¹ and pH 7.97 and 8.08 , respectively, compared with the control (6.81 dS m⁻¹ and 8.12) and soil bulk density was found to reduce from 1.23 to 1.20 Mg m-3 while soil water content was increased from 26.33 to 30.23% when depth of addition was raised from 10 to 30 cm. The manure application 40 t ha⁻¹ combined with manure placement depth from 10-30 cm was more effective than mixing in reducing soil pH, soil salinity, and EC, BD and improved soil water content, particularly at deeper soil layers, resulting in improved soil physical conditions.
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