GREEN MANURES AND NPK FERTILIZER APPLICATIONS EFFECT ON ORGANIC CARBON POOL, SOIL PHYSICAL PROPERTIE

Even with regular applications of inorganic fertilisers, persistent agriculture of tropical sandy loam soils causes deterioration of soil physical qualities and organic matter depletion. The impacts of several legumes green manures and NPK chemical fertiliser on soil organic matter regeneration and soil structural and hydraulic qualities for crop production were studied following a 3-year field experiment at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching and Research Farm (2018–2021). 5 tonnes ha-1 Centrocema (Ce5), 5 tonnes ha-1 Gliricidia (Gl5), 5 tonnes ha-1Calapogonium (Ca5), NPK 20:10:10 (NPK), and the Control were used in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with five replications. Three yearly treatments of Centrocema, Gliricidia, and Calapogonium boosted soil organic carbon pool during the 0-30 year interval, according to the findings. Compared to the NPK fertiliser and control, the bulk densities were lowered by 8.5 percent, 4.1 percent, and 7.0 percent, respectively. In untreated plots, higher bulk density resulted in decreased water stable aggregates, reduced water holding capacity, and low cucumber crop yield. Green manures boosted the organic carbon pool in the soil, improved topsoil physical qualities, and increased cucumber output, but NPK chemical fertiliser had the opposite impact.

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