Some effects of cattle dung on soil properties, pasture production, and nutrient uptake

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Abstract
The effect of cattle dung, superphosphate, and potassium chloride on soil properties and on nutrient uptake of mixed grass - clover pasture was measured in the field over 3 years. Dung increased pH, CEC, total N, organic C, loss on ignition, and exchangeable Mg and Ca. It decreased sulphate sorption. Superphosphate very slightly increased pH, CEC, organic C, and loss on ignition, and also decreased sulphate sorption. Maintenance dressings of KC1 reduced pH, CEC, exchangeable Mg and Ca, and increased sulphate sorption. The apparent recovery of K applied in dung was nearly 100 percent, but both superphosphate and dung from cattle grazing improved pasture increased the depletion of soil potassium compared with control. The apparent recovery of calcium was much higher from dung than from superphosphate. The apparent recovery of magnesium from dung was high only where no annual dressings of superphosphate and potassium chloride had been applied. It is estimated that, on high-producing pastures well utilised by cattle, dung may influence at any one time the potassium fertility of the soil on 40 percent of the area, and the calcium and magnesium fertility on a very much larger area. Losses of Mg and Ca under dung spots could be high on farms topdressed heavily with superphosphate and potassium chloride; losses of Ca were about ten times higher than those of Mg.