Long‐term Effects of Manure on Soil Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sodium, Organic Matter, and Water Infiltration Rate

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Abstract
High rates of manure were added to field plots of a Holtville silty clay (Typic Torrifluvents) soil in an irrigated desert region, and their effects on the soils' chemical and physical properties were measured for 9 years.Manure applications resulted in large losses of nitrogen (N), increased potassium (K) levels, increased phosphorus (P) availability, increased water intake rates during the growing season, and an N mineralization rate of about 5% after the first year. At high rates of manure application only 42% of the N applied could be accounted for. One application of 180 t/ha of manure in 1971 doubled the NaHCO3‐extractable P levels in the soil in 1979 compared with that of plots that did not receive manure. The application of manure had only a small or no effect on the water intake rate when it was measured between cropping periods on plots that had been recently tilled, but differences were large when water intake rates were measured while the crop was growing. The increased water infiltration rates during the growing season would be important because of increased crop yields in areas affected by salinity.

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