Effects of Poultry Manure and Biochar on Acrisol Soil Properties and Yield of Common Bean. A Short-Term Field Experiment
José Romualdo de Sousa Lima,
Maria da Conceição Cavalcanti de Goes,
Claude Hammecker,
Antonio Celso Dantas Antonino,
Érika Valente de Medeiros,
Everardo Valadares de Sá Barretto Sampaio,
Maria Camila de Barros Silva Leite,
Vanilson Pedro da Silva,
Eduardo Soares de Souza,
Rodolfo Souza
Affiliations
José Romualdo de Sousa Lima
Academic Unit of Garanhuns, Federal University of Agreste of Pernambuco, Garanhuns, PE 55292-270, Brazil
Maria da Conceição Cavalcanti de Goes
Academic Unit of Garanhuns, Federal University of Agreste of Pernambuco, Garanhuns, PE 55292-270, Brazil
Claude Hammecker
Laboratory for the Study of Soil-Agrosystem-Hydrosystem Interactions, French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development, 34060 Montpellier, France
Antonio Celso Dantas Antonino
Department of Nuclear Energy, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, PE 50740-540, Brazil
Érika Valente de Medeiros
Academic Unit of Garanhuns, Federal University of Agreste of Pernambuco, Garanhuns, PE 55292-270, Brazil
Everardo Valadares de Sá Barretto Sampaio
Department of Nuclear Energy, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, PE 50740-540, Brazil
Maria Camila de Barros Silva Leite
Academic Unit of Garanhuns, Federal University of Agreste of Pernambuco, Garanhuns, PE 55292-270, Brazil
Vanilson Pedro da Silva
Academic Unit of Garanhuns, Federal University of Agreste of Pernambuco, Garanhuns, PE 55292-270, Brazil
Eduardo Soares de Souza
Academic Unit of Serra Talhada, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Serra Talhada, PE 56909-535, Brazil
Rodolfo Souza
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3127, USA
Common bean is usually cropped under rainfed conditions and in soils with low pH and water retention, in the sub-humid and semiarid regions of Brazil. To improve soil conditions, smallholder farmers commonly use cattle manure. However, manure is available in limited amounts, insufficient to fertilize all cropping areas. Thus, other amendments, such as poultry manure (PM) and biochar (BC), have been proposed to increase soil water retention and pH. We evaluated the effects of BC (10, 20, and 40 t ha−1; BC10, BC20, and BC40, respectively), PM (5 t ha−1; PM), the combination of both amendments (BC10 + PM, BC20 + PM, and BC40 + PM) and an absolute control (Control), with no amendment, on soil physical, chemical, and biological properties, and on common bean water use efficiency (WUE) and yield. The treatments had no effects on total organic carbon, cation exchange capacity, microbial biomass carbon, soil physical properties, and evapotranspiration. Treatment combination BC (10 t ha−1) + PM (5 t ha−1) significantly improved phosphorus concentration, enzymatic activities, WUE, and bean yield in this one-year experiment and it can be a viable management practice for smallholder farmers in the Brazilian sub-humid region. However, further investigations are required to study the long-term field effects of the best performing soil amendments.
