Using Animal Manure for Improving Soil Chemical Properties under Different Leaching Conditions

Lack of adequate Organic Matter (OM) in the agricultural soils of Iran is responsible for the poor physic-chemical condition of these soils. Thus, increasing soil OM via. Manure application has an important function in improving the soil fertility. To enhance animal productivity and maximize economic returns, mineral salts are routinely added to animal feed worldwide. Salinity induced by manure application and chemical composition of soil and plant after its usage was investigated. The main purpose of this greenhouse study was to evaluate the impact of sheep manure and leaching of manure on growth, nutrient concentration and some chemical properties of soil. Leaching of some manure with 1:10 manure-water ratio was done because reducing of its salinity. Treatments consisted of four levels of sheep manure (0, 1, 2 and 4% based on dry weight) and two levels of manure leaching (with and without leaching). The results have shown that the application of sheep manure significantly increased N, Fe, Cu, Zn and Mn concentrations of soybean roots. Also, manure leaching reduced the negative effects of salinity-induced in 2% treatments. The effect of leaching on the root nutrients concentration was not consistent. Due to the lack of information on the effect of leaching on the growth of soybean it is recommended to study the effect of different levels of organic wastes leaching on more varieties of soybean in different soils.