Leaching losses of nutrients from farmyard manure pits in Central India

Abstract

Nutrients in cattle manure and other inputs, components of farmyard manure (FYM), are important for sustained crop production in India, but little quantitative data exists on nutrient fluxes. Mass balance studies were conducted on a representative FYM pit in Geelakhedi village, Madhya Pradesh, India to determine the inputs and outputs of N, P and K. Cattle dung was the main component of FYM (67%) followed by cattle shed wastes (20%); household wastes, ash and vegetable wastes were minor components. A total of 3.70 t of FYM was produced from the 5.76 t of materials that were put into the pit. Importantly, 39% of the N, 20% of the P, and 32% of the K inputs were lost during the preparation of FYM by conventional methods. Ion exchange resin core studies showed that at least 20% of the N, 30% of the P and 50% of the K were lost through leaching, but failed to quantify this loss accurately. Further studies are needed to quantify the fluxes of other nutrients and to establish losses through other mechanisms (e.g. volatilization, runoff).