ABSTRACT

Cattle manure (CM) is noted for its poor nutrient quality especially in Ghana where most cattle are fed on a free range. There is therefore a need to improve its quality since it is a vital nutrient resource for smallholder farmers. An experiment was thus carried out by composting cocoa pod husk (CPH), palm kernel cake (PKC) and rock phosphate (RP) to investigate their effectiveness for use as nutrient sources for improving the fertilizer value of cattle manure (CM). Four compost ratios (CM + PKC (3:1), CM + CPH (3:1), CM + RP (3:1) and CM + PKC + CPH + RP (3:1:1:1)) were formulated and replicated three times in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). The findings showed that, addition of CPH, PKC and RP to CM improved the fertilizer value of cattle manure. The CM + PKC + CPH + RP (3:1:1:1) compost increased the nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) contents of cattle manure by 73%, 145% and 50%, respectively and was therefore considered the most effective in enhancing the nutrient value of cattle manure. This compost was thus evaluated through field application to maize. The study also revealed that increasing the application rate of compost increased maize grain yields. Hence, cocoa pod husk, palm kernel cake and rock phosphate can be exploited for use as important resources for improving the fertilizer value of cattle manure.

摘要

牛粪（CM）因其营养质量差而著称，尤其是在加纳，大多数牛都是自由放牧的。因此，由于它是小农的重要营养资源，因此有必要提高其质量。因此，通过堆肥可可豆壳（CPH），棕榈仁饼（PKC）和磷酸岩（RP）进行了一项实验，以研究它们用作营养源以提高牛粪（CM）肥料价值的有效性。配制了四个堆肥比率（CM + PKC（3：1），CM + CPH（3：1），CM + RP（3：1）和CM + PKC + CPH + RP（3：1：1：1））并在随机完整区块设计（RCBD）中复制了3次。研究结果表明，在CM上添加CPH，PKC和RP可以提高牛粪的肥料价值。CM + PKC + CPH + RP（3：1：1：1）堆肥增加了氮（N），牛粪中的磷（P）和钾（K）含量分别增加了73％，145％和50％，因此被认为是提高牛粪营养价值最有效的方法。因此，通过在玉米上的田间施用对这种堆肥进行了评估。研究还表明，增加堆肥的施用量可以增加玉米籽粒的产量。因此，可可豆荚果壳，棕榈仁饼和磷酸盐岩可被用作提高牛粪肥料价值的重要资源。研究还表明，增加堆肥的施用量可以增加玉米籽粒的产量。因此，可可豆荚果壳，棕榈仁饼和磷酸盐岩可被用作提高牛粪肥料价值的重要资源。研究还表明，增加堆肥的施用量可以增加玉米籽粒的产量。因此，可可豆荚果壳，棕榈仁饼和磷酸盐岩可被用作提高牛粪肥料价值的重要资源。