COMPARATIVE EFFECTS OF FRESH AND BIOCHAR OF POULTRY DROPPINGS ON THE SOIL MICROBIAL POPULATION AND PLANT PERFORMANCE
Abstract
Comparative effects of fresh and biochar of poultry droppings on soil microbial population and plant performance was studied. The study was conducted using three (3) nursery bags and labelled as A, B and C respectively (A= 2kg of soil sample + 200g of fresh poultry droppings, B = 2kg of soil sample + 200g of biochar of poultry droppings and C = 2kg of soil sample only). The experiment was carried out in duplicate. Five (5) seeds of maize were planted equidistantly on each nursery bags, observation and measurements of plants growth were done biweekly for 4 weeks. All samples were analyzed using standard microbiological procedures. The plant growth parameters in soil treatments from 1st to 4th week recorded the following averaged plant height, leaf length and number of leaves; 16.1cm, 27cm and 14 for Sample A; 13.4cm, 21.8cm and 10 for Sample B and 12.4cm, 18.3cm and 9 for Sample C respectively. The total bacterial count of the soil treatment for 1st week to 4th week ranged from 1.0x105cfu/g to 7.5x107 cfu/g. The bacteria identified were Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Salmonella sp., Staphylococcus sp. and Enterobacter sp. and Lactobacillus sp. The percentage occurrence of the bacterial isolates revealed that Pseudomonas sp. had the highest percentage occurrence of (22.9%) followed by Bacillus sp. (21.8%), Staphylococcus sp. (17.4%) Salmonella sp. (15.3%), Enterobacter sp. (13.0%) while Lactobacillus sp. had the least being (9.5%) respectively. The total fungal count of the soil treatment for the 1st to 4th week ranged from 1.0x105 cfu/g to 5.3x104 cfu/g. The fungi identified were Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., Rhizopus sp. and Trichoderma sp. The percentage occurrence of fungal isolates revealed that Trichoderma sp. had the highest percentage occurrence of (37.5%) followed by Rhizopus sp. (31.2%) Aspergillus sp. (19.8%) while Penicillium sp. had the least being (12.5%) respectively. This study indicates that fresh poultry droppings can enhance microbial diversity and provide nutrients while biochar derived from poultry droppings offers a safer alternative that stabilizes beneficial microbes and promotes sustainable plant growth. Hence, poultry droppings should be utilized into the soil as a natural organic amendment to enhance soil fertility and microbial diversity.
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