Effects of Farmyard Manure and Inorganic Fertilizer Application on Soil Physico-Chemical Properties and Nutrient Balance in Rain-Fed Lowland Rice Ecosystem.docVIP

American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2013, 4, 309-316 /10.4236/ajps.2013.42041 Published Online February 2013 (/journal/ajps) Effects of Farmyard Manure and Inorganic Fertilizer Application on Soil Physico-Chemical Properties and Nutrient Balance in Rain-Fed Lowland Rice Ecosystem Tilahun Tadesse 1* , Nigussie Dechassa 2 , Wondimu Bayu 3 , Setegn Gebeyehu 4 1 Amhra Region Agricultural Research Institute, Ethiopia; of Agricultural Research, Ethiopia. 2 Haramaya University, Ethiopia; 3 ICARDA, Ethiopia; Ethiopian Institute 4 Email: tilahuntade@ * Received November 15 , 2012; revised December 17 , 2012; accepted December 25 , 2012 th th th ABSTRACT A field experiment was conducted to assess the effects of combined application of farm yard manure (FYM) and inor- ganic NP fertilizers on soil physico-chemical properties and nutrient balance in a rain-fed lowland rice production sys- tem in Fogera plain, northwestern Ethiopia. The study was carried out during the main cropping seasons of 2010 and 2011. Twenty-seven treatments comprising a factorial combination of three rates of FYM (0, 7.5, and 15 t·ha?1), three rates of nitrogen (0, 60, 120 kg·N·ha?1) and three rates of phosphorus (0, 50 and 100 kg·P O ·ha?1) were tested. The 2 5 experiments were laid out as a randomized complete block design with three replications. Bulk density, organic matter content, and available water holding capacity, total N, and available P of the soil were measured just after harvesting the rice crop. Results showed that application of 15 t·FYM·ha?1 significantly increased soil organic matter and available water holding capacity but decreased the soil bulk density, creating a good soil condition for enhanced growth of the rice crop. Application of 15 tFYM·ha?1 increased the level of soil total nitrogen fr