Cow and Pig Manures Essay

While cows eat many of the same plants eaten by horses, weed seeds do not survive in a cow’s digestive system. Cattle (along with goats, sheep, deer, and some other animals) are ruminants that have a system of two stomachs to double-digest their food. Cattle manure is often collected as a slurry, does not have bedding materials mixed in with it, and will break down easily. For these reasons, cow manure is better than horse manure in a compost pile. Nitrogen level is lower than that for horse manure. Pig (hog) manure is collected as a slurry. Its high odor level will diminish when it is combined with dry carboniferous materials. Its nitrogen and other nutrient levels are similar to cow manure. Chicken Manure Chicken manure has long been a favorite of gardeners. Its high nitrogen content makes it ideal to â€Å"fire up† a compost pile that has a lot of carbon, but it also means that it should not be added to the soil directly around plants—it may burn the roots. The strong ammonia smell of chicken manure almost disappears when it is mixed with carboniferous materials such as dead leaves. As a general rule, it is best to compost chicken manure rather than add it directly to the soil. Read more: The Best Manure for Compost | Garden Guides http://www.gardenguides.com/87499-manure-compost.html#ixzz29JgQHQSP Materials and methods Location, soil and climate The experiment was conducted in the experimental farm of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine Faculty of Nong Lam University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This area is in Southeastern Vietnam, and has a tropical monsoonal climate, with a rainy season from May to October and a dry season from November to April. The characteristic of the soil is sandy. The average temperature is 28 °C with high humidity. The duration of this study was 120 days, from February to May, 2011. Treatments and experimental design The experiment was a completely randomized design (CRD), with 5 treatments and 3 replicates. Each replicate in the experimental field was a plot with about 110 plants grown on the surface of 4.5m2 (1.5m Ãâ€" 3m) and 20 cm high (Figure 1). The treatments were: †¢ Chicken manure (CM): 68g total Nitrogen from chicken manure †¢ Cow manure (COM): 68g total Nitrogen from cow manure †¢ Pig manure (PM): 68g total Nitrogen from pig manure †¢ Inorganic fertilizer (IO): 68g total Nitrogen from inorganic fertilizer †¢ No manure (NM): No manure is applied when sowing and planting