Characterization of Organic Manures for Polysaccharides, Microbial Biomass and Humic Substances

Soil organic matter (SOM) is an important indicator of soil quality as it determines many soil characteristics such as nutrient mineralization, structural stability and water holding capacity. An understanding of different bio-chemical processes undergoing inside the conventional sources of organic matter, which are used for farm management regarding improvement of soil structure which rely on organic carbon input as organic carbon is the main binding force between soil particles. Farm yard manure (FYM), poultry litter (PL) and municipal solid waste compost (MSWC) were characterized in an incubation experiment for six months in a completely randomized design (CRD). This study was carried out in 2011 at Department of Soil Science and SWC, PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi. Organic matter fractionation, total organic carbon (TOC), total polysaccharide content (TPC) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) were determined. Results showed that PL has significantly highest values for all of the parameters except humic acid as compared to other manures. Results showed that TOC, MBC and humic acid decreased, fulvic acid remained unchanged and TPC increased significantly with incubation period. Interaction of manures and days showed that PL at 180 days had significantly highest contents of TOC and TPC. MBC content and humic acid were significantly highest at 0 and 30 days, respectively. Fulvic acid was highest at 30, 120, 150 and 180 days in PL. Correlation analysis showed that TPC was positively and significantly correlated with fulvic acid (0.732), TOC was negatively correlated with humic acid (-0.295) and positively correlated with MBC (0.668). These results suggested that the PL was better among other manures under study regarding TOC, TPC and MBC.