Sanilac Co. Michigan | PatCMO - 1/13/2019 18:50
Why does manure make so much more difference than crop residue? Considering manure is mostly crop residue that is alread mostly broken down. Patrick
Besides it being a somewhat more concentrated form of crop residue, it's kind of pre loaded with microbial activity when it hits the soil. Of course, not all manures have the same level of benefits as others in building soil organic matter. Guess I'm thinking the length of time it would take to convert a ton of dairy manure (on a dry matter basis) into OM as opposed to horse manure at the same weight and basis. I would guess the effect would be particularly evident in soils already very low in OM. Could be the native populations of those microbes are so low they need to be kick started with an introduction of new ones. |