Nitrogen fertiliser value of biogas slurry and cattle manure for maize ( L.) production.

Recovery of nutrients from biogas slurry (BGS) as a soil amendment, on low input smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa, could improve agricultural production and minimize contribution of the agroecosystems to CO emissions. Comparative effects of BGS and cattle manure (CM) on maize dry matter, grain yield, uptake of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), and soil total N, extractable P and exchangeable K after harvest were studied, relative to chemical fertiliser (CF). The field experiment was conducted in the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 growing seasons and was arranged in a randomized complete block design replicated four times with (i) BGS, (ii) CM and (iii) CF as the treatments.

Short-term effects of selected organic fertilizer sources on carbon dioxide fluxes and soil quality.

Biogas slurry (BGS) has potential as an organic nutrient source, and understanding its effect on carbon (C) exchange in soils is important for clarifying the contribution of organic amendments to soil fertility and the C budget globally. This study evaluated the effect of BGS, cattle manure (CM), and chemical fertilizer (CF) on carbon dioxide (CO ) fluxes, microbial biomass C, and β-glucosidase activity during the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 maize (Zea mays L.) seasons, covering December-May, in South Africa.