Impacts of Reddish Brown Earth and Integrated Plant Nutrient management on Physical Properties and Cec. in a Sandy Regosol

Abstract

A study with leaching column was conducted at soil science laboratory, Eastern University, Sri Lanka during December 2010 to February 2011 to study the impacts of reddish brown earth and locally available organic nutrient sources on physicochemical properties in sandy regosol. Three locally available organic sources (farmyard manure poultry litter and compost) integrated with chemical fertilizer and were compared with sole chemical fertilizer treatment. A factorial experiment with eight treatments was replicated three times in a complete randomized design. Manures and chemical fertilizers were incorporated with soil and filled in leaching column. Water was added once a week and the leachate was collected and analyzed for pH and electrical conductivity. Analyses of soil sample were carried out at the end of the study for its physical properties and cation exchange capacity. The results indicated low bulk density and high porosity, water holding capacity and cation exchange capacity were observed in reddish brown earth combined soil than sandy regosol alone. In organic manure integrated soil the bulk density was reduced. Furthermore, porosity, water holding capacity and cation exchange capacity were increased. pH was low in reddish brown earth incorporated treatment. The results also indicated that the electrical conductivity of the leachate was reduced with time. Integration of organic and inorganic manures significantly influenced the physical properties and CEC than sole chemical fertilizer application. Among the organic manures, integration of farmyard manure with chemical fertilizer recorded the highest cation exchange capacity