A Complete Guide on Manure Types in Modern Farming

Manure is an organic fertilizer that is applied to soil. It usually consists of the urine and excrement of domestic animals, sometimes combined with other materials like hay, straw, or bedding. Manure has long been used for its benefits as a fertilizer, soil amendment, energy source, and even building material by those who raise cattle and poultry.

Manure has a number of useful and recyclable components, such as fiber, organic matter, solids, energy, and nutrients.

Green manure, farmyard manure, and compost manure are the three different kinds of manure.

Green Manure

Although they may have other uses as well, green manures are crops that are particularly planted to improve and maintain soil fertility and structure. Usually, they are removed and decomposed, or they are reincorporated straight into the soil.

legumes like clover, vetch, and beans, and peas, and grasses such as rapeseed, buckwheat, oats, and annual ryegrass are typical examples of green manures.

Using materials that can restore and maintain soil fertility is vital as ongoing land cultivation removes vital nutrients and organic matter from the soil. Using green manuring is one way to accomplish this plant materials are added to the soil to make green manures. Green manures add organic matter and, to a lesser extent, nutrients like potassium and nitrogen to the soil as they break down.

Crops that are planted on a specific piece of land and tilled into the soil during their early flowering stage are used to make green manure. The decomposition of leaves, weeds, and root stems produces in the release of the organic matter and plant nutrients they contain.

While leguminous crops like beans, groundnuts, clover, alfalfa, cowpeas, and Desmodium species (Silver Leaf Desmodium or Green Leaf Desmodium) are favored, any vegetative material, including weeds, maize, and sorghum, can be used for green manuring.

This predilection results from the root-nodule bacteria found in these crops, which are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen. Green manure also creates a thick layer of organic materials.

Benefits of Applying Green Manure

• Using leguminous crops fixes atmospheric nitrogen into the soil.
• An increase in the humus and organic matter of the soil promotes the growth of beneficial microorganisms. Decomposition and the release of plant nutrients are thus improved.
• Green manuring produces organic matter that enhances absorption, water infiltration, and aeration.
• When compared to land that does not receive manure, green manuring results in higher agricultural yields.

The Drawbacks of Applying Green Manure

• Convincing peasant farmers to cultivate food crops especially for the purpose of plow-under them is one of the primary obstacles to employing green manure.
• Crops that are left to develop until they become fibrous and tough may be difficult for microorganisms to break down.As a result, the majority of the nitrogen fixed during the breakdown process could be consumed by bacteria.
• Sometimes, green manure crops use a lot of water, therefore there aren’t enough resources left over for the next crop.
• Incorporating green manure crops into the soil usually requires mechanical techniques, which makes it challenging to do without the right tools.

Muck or Farmyard Manure (F.Y.M.)

A decomposing mixture of dung, urine, litter, and leftovers from animal feed, such as roughage and fodder, is known as farmyard manure (FYM).

Farmyard manure is categorized as organic manure, just like compost and green manure. It is made from decomposing plant leftovers such elephant grass, Guatemala grass, and grain stalks as well as animal excreta (dung and urine).

Additionally permitted to stay in the pen is the bedding material used by the animals, which adds to the generation of farmyard manure. This means that this manure is produced right next to the animals that are fed inside, especially when zero grazing is being used.

The Process for Producing Farmyard Manure

Collect urine and cow dung, making sure to create a layer of uniform thickness beneath a basic roof to shield it from intense sunshine and dampness. Add extra feces, pee, and water if the mixture gets too dry.

Arrange plant material on a concrete floor inside a covered shed. Combine the substance with the manure and urine that the animals excrete. Once the mixture has been sitting for about six months, take it out of the pen and pile it outside.

It’s advised to cover the heap with dirt and set it on a concrete floor to stop nutrients from being lost during wet seasons to stop water from getting in and to stop the wind from carrying the manure away, compact the mound.

Before using the manure, let it fully break down.

Farmyard Manure’s Uses

• It supplies the organic materials required to keep the soil fertile.
• It provides nutrients to plants, including potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen, all of which are necessary for their growth and development.
• It feeds and nurtures the microbes that decompose organic materials.
• Farmyard manure is a natural fertilizer that enhances the structure of the soil.
• It makes the soil more able to retain nutrients and water.
• Additionally, it boosts the soil’s microbial activity, which enhances the availability of minerals and plant nutrients.

Factors Influencing Farmyard Manure’s Quality

The kind of animal:

The dung of fattening animals is more nutrient-rich than that of growing or milking stock because the latter remove a large quantity of phosphorus from their diet. Furthermore, the feces of non-ruminant animals—such as pigs—is more nutrient-rich because they absorb less nutrients from their diet.

The kind of food consumed:

The mineral concentration of the meal has a direct impact on the nutrient richness of manure. Therefore, when compared to starchy diets, foods high in minerals and proteins provide dung of superior quality, which in turn yields superior farmyard manure.

The kind of litter:

Grass or straw used as bedding and for feeding gradually decomposes into microbes, allowing its nutrients to be released for use by developing crops. Different kinds of litter produce different outcomes: While they break down slowly, wood shavings and sawdust offer little in the way of nutrients and can absorb 1.5 times their own weight in urine. Cereal straw absorbs 2.5 times its weight in urine and has a potassium oxide content of about 1%. Elephant grass, on the other hand, has a low absorptive capacity yet delivers both nitrogen and phosphorus.

Storage Technique:

When farmyard manure is not properly stored and is left out in the weather, it can lose a lot of nutrients, especially phosphorus and nitrogen. Rain can drain these soluble nutrients out of dung piles. It is recommended to spread farmyard manure into a concrete base, build dung mounds with straight sides, then erect a shed over them.

The age of farmyard manure:

When compared to fresh material, well-rotted manure is easier to handle and incorporate into the soil, and it also has higher quantities of plant nutrients. For this reason, before applying farmyard manure, it is essential to give it enough time to completely break down.

Compost Manure

Compost manure is an organic fertilizer made from leftover food, plant leftovers, weeds, and kitchen garbage. Its main goals are to enrich the soil with organic matter, improve the structure of the soil, and give plants the nutrients they need.

Furthermore, it is essential for promoting the microbial community in the soil, which is required for the microbial breakdown of plant and animal remnants.

The components for composting, make sure the following components are properly balanced:

• Materials high in carbon can be twigs, plant stalks, and dried leaves.
• Materials high in nitrogen include food leftovers and lawn clippings.
• Wetness (water).
• Air contains oxygen.

Techniques for Producing Compost Manure

Indore method:

Indore, India is the birthplace of the Indore composting technique. The material to be composted is packed into a pit that is 1.2 meters wide, 1.2 meters long, and 60 centimeters deep as part of the process. Fresh material, such as grass, kitchen scraps, or maize stalks, make up the first layer, which is half a meter deep.

To add microorganisms, this layer is then topped with cow dung, aged compost manure, or farm yard manure that break down the new substance. This layer has a thickness of 50 mm. To increase the compost’s nutrient content, synthetic fertilizers such as muriate of potash and single superphosphate are also used.

Since nitrogenous fertilizers leach easily, they are usually excluded. A layer of topsoil containing microorganisms that decompose plant and animal remnants is applied after the second layer.

Till the pit is filled, the same procedure is repeated. Water is applied to keep it moist during dry seasons. Pit IV’s contents are moved to Pit V, Pit III’s contents to Pit IV, Pit II’s contents to Pit III, and Pit I’s contents to Pit I once Pits II, III, and IV are full.

from Pit I to Pit II. Until the original material has completely broken down and is prepared for use as compost manure in the field, this process is repeated.

Method II: Organizing compost heaps

This technique makes compost manure by utilizing a four-heap arrangement. Either four or seven piles are used in this method. Each heap uses the same substance, as previously mentioned. The material is first added to heaps designated X if four heaps are used. The decomposing material is moved to heap Y after three to four weeks. The compost material is moved to heap Z after an additional three to four weeks. Before being transported to the field, it stays there for a further three to four weeks like compost.

Conclusion:

In summary, manure provides a variety of advantages for crop productivity and soil fertility, including green manure, farmyard manure, and compost manure.

Legumes and grasses are examples of green manure crops that, via decomposition, restore vital nutrients and organic matter to the soil, improving soil structure, increasing crop yields, and fixing nitrogen in the atmosphere.

Manure from a farm, which is a blend of leftover plants and animal waste, adds organic matter, plant nutrients, and microbes to the soil to improve its water-holding ability and fertility.

Compost manure, which is derived from a variety of organic materials, improves the structure, health, and availability of nutrients in the soil while promoting the growth of helpful microbes.

Even though there are benefits and things to keep in mind for each form of manure, using manure in agricultural techniques can result in productive and sustainable farming. By using the forceby treating manure as a valuable resource, we may encourage effective and eco-friendly methods of fertilizing land, resulting in a more robust and fruitful agricultural ecosystem.