Full Length Research Paper

Short-term studies on use of organic amendments for amelioration of a sandy soil

A. R. Mubarak¹*, Omaima E. Ragab² , Amal A. Ali³ and Nemat E. Hamed³

¹Department of Soil and Environment Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum, Shambat, Sudan/ Desertification and Desert Cultivation Studies Institute, University of Khartoum, Shambat, Sudan.

²Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Khartoum, Sudan.

³Agricultural Research Corporation, P.O. Box 126 Wad Medani, Sudan.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: mubarakaba@yahoo.com.

Accepted 23 May, 2009

   Abstract

The increase in world population has posed more pressure in existing arable lands. The nutrients poor sandy soils could be productive if their content of organic matter can be increased. Agricultural and animal wastes instead of being dumped, could offer a cheap alternative source of organic matter to increase soil fertility. Three glasshouse short-term experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of incorporation of: (1) agricultural residues (trashes of Cajanus cajan and sugarcane factory by- product (baggase); (2) recycling of various vegetable market wastes and; (3) application of animal wastes (hoof and wool) on soil properties and performance of fodder sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) or maize (Zea mays L.). Results showed that almost all sources of organic materials had resulted in significant positive effects on accumulation of plant dry matter and soil physical and chemical characteristics. Organic amendments are necessary for the sustainable use of nutrient-poor Sudanese sandy soils.

Key words: Organic amendments, sandy soil, amelioration, fodder crops.