Effect of short-term supply of farmyard manure on maize growth and soil parameters in pot culture

Abstract

Farmyard manure (FYM) improves various soil parameters and to a large extent, the availability of water and nutrient to crops when it is applied to the soil. This study aims to further investigate the short-term effects of different levels of FYM on maize plants and soil parameters. Maize plants grown in pot culture were treated with no FYM (control), recommended NPK (inorganic fertilizers), and FYM at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 t ha⁻¹ along with recommended NPK, and the cultures were analyzed 8 weeks after germination. Soil bulk density and soil pH decreased with the increasing levels of FYM, whereas soil porosity, soil organic matter (SOM), soil water content, plant height, root and shoot yield, and NPK uptake of maize were increased compared with the control or recommended NPK, respectively. The present results indicate that short-term application of higher FYM levels improves soil properties. Furthermore, the application of FYM at only higher rates significantly increases the nutrient uptake of maize plants due to improved soil properties. The supply of different amounts of nutrients increases biomass and nutrient uptake in plants.

Keywords:

• farmyard manure
• nutrient uptake
• maize
• soil properties

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Prof. Dr. K. H. Mühling (Christian Albrechts University Kiel) for critically reading the manuscript. We would like to thank Mr. Nisar Ahmed (ARO, Plant Protection Institute, AARI, Faisalabad, Pakistan) for his technical assistance and valuable suggestions.