Effects of Poultry Manure and NPK Fertilizer on Physical Properties of a Sandy Soil in Ghana

Abstract

Field experiment was conducted during the rainy season at the experimental field of the Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Collage of Agriculture and Renewable Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology to test the effects of poultry manure and NPK fertilizer on the physical properties of a sandy soil. There were five treatments with five replications. The experiment was laid in Randomized Complete Block Design. Data were collected on the following soil physical properties: bulk density, total porosity, aeration porosity, volumetric water content, aggregate stability. The results suggest that the poultry manure decreased the dry bulk density, increased the total porosity and increased the moisture content. However, there were no significant improvement in aggregate stability and aeration porosity. The mineral fertilizer did not show any significant improvement in any of the parameters. In the short term Poultry manure was therefore found to improve some physical properties of the sandy soil.