Comparing Three Types of Soil Amendments on Soil Properties of Silt Loam

Manure applications on agricultural production fields have been common practice throughout Kentucky and the United States for many years. The research objective was to study manure applications and the soil property changes as a result of the different types of applications. The soil properties that were studied in this research are bulk density, porosity, soil water holding capacity and field capacity, soil pH, soil organic matter and organic carbon. Four replications were used in each field with two depths taken at each site. During the study, undisturbed soil cores and disturbed soil samples were collected from the depth of 0 to 7.5 and 7.5 to 15 cm. The fields were observed from Henry County, Tennessee and Calloway County, Kentucky in silt loam soils. The treatments of the fields were, swine manure injected, swine manure applied with a splash pan, poultry litter spread, and traditional dry fertilizer applied. The data shows the field with splash pan applied manure had lower soil organic carbon levels at 2.279% with the next lowest being 2.369%. The plot with traditional fertilizer applied had the highest soil organic carbon level in the top 7.5 cm of soil at 3.930%. But was on the lower end of levels in the 7.5 to 15 cm depth at 2.505%. Poultry litter field at the surface had the highest soil water holding content at 37.103%. These results help growers understand how the type of manure applied and application style alter the soil properties to help growers manage their soil better. Keywords: Bulk Density, Fertilizer, Macroporosity, Manure, Soil pH