Effect of chicken manure on soil infiltration rate, soil moisture retention and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) Yield of desert soil in the Northern State, Sudan

Abstract

This study was conducted for two successive seasons 2014/15 and 2015/16 on desert soil with the aim to investigate the effect of chicken manure on infiltration rate and soil moisture retention of desert plain soils and wheat yield in the Northern State of Sudan as well. The chicken manure was used with four levels (0, 4, 8, and 12 ton ha-1). The treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results showed that the effect of chicken manure was effective in improving the soil physical properties under investigation. The chicken manure application decreased soil infiltration rate on average across the two seasons varied from 3.5 cm hr-1 for the control to 1.2 cm hr-1 in the chicken manure treatments and improved the soil moisture retention as well and also, increased available water on average across both seasons varied form 15 mm in the control to 31mm in the chicken manure treatments. The result also showed that the effect of chicken manure obtained very highly significant (P≤0.001) increase in the grain yield of wheat on the average across the two seasons varied from 0.71 ton ha-1 in the control treatment to 3.75 ton ha-1 in the chicken manure treatments. The results showed that there were no significant differences among the levels of chicken manure. It is
recommended that 4 ton ha-1 chicken manure is the optimum dose can be applied to reclaim these desert plain soils and increase wheat yield in Northern Sudan.