title: Effects of organic fertilizers on soil physicochemistry and on the yield and botanical composition of forage over 3 years.
abstract: Organic wastes have been reported to reduce saturation of the exchange complex by Al in Al-rich acid soils. For 3 years, the main soil fertility properties were studied in plots sown with mixed pasture species. These plots were fertilized with cattle slurry, dairy sludge (DS), or granulated broiler litter (BL) in comparison with mineral fertilizer. Al saturation levels were low after the initial inorganic liming treatment (19.00-33.71%) but tended to rise under all treatments (21.09-61.37%) except BL (8.45-30.98%), which was also associated with the highest average soil pH and the highest average levels of exchangeable Ca2+, Mg2+, and K+. Treatment DS performed similarly to mineral fertilizer in most respects, but it led to greater available P levels. Under the dry conditions of the second and third years of the study, BL and DS treatments were associated with significantly greater forage yields than the other treatments. Under DS treatment, available P levels were too low to allow the maintenance of mixed pasture, clover being eliminated by the less P-dependent species.
authors.affiliation: Escola Politécnica Superior, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain.
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matos-Moreira
authors.forename: M Elvira
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: López-Mosquera
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.forename: María Jesús
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Sáinz Osés
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: Emilio V
authors.initials: EV
authors.lastname: Carral
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D005308:Fertilizers; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008129:Lolium / Q000254:growth & development*; D012987:Soil / Q000032:analysis*; D013997:Time Factors; D029921:Trifolium / Q000254:growth & development*; D014887:Weather
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D012987:Soil