Research ArticleEffects of Lime Vermicompost and Chemical P Fertilizer onSelected Properties of Acid Soils of Ebantu District WesternHighlands of Ethiopia
Abdissa Bekele 1 Kibebew Kibret1 Bobe Bedadi1 Markku Yli-Halla 2
and Tesfaye Balemi3
1School of Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences Haramaya University Dire Dawa Ethiopia2Department of Food and Environmental Sciences University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland3ILRICIMMYT Gurd Shola PO Box 5689 Addis Ababa Ethiopia
Correspondence should be addressed to Abdissa Bekele abdissabekele1gmailcom
Received 10 November 2017 Revised 20 April 2018 Accepted 20 May 2018 Published 3 July 2018
Academic Editor Teodoro M Miano
Copyright copy 2018Abdissa Bekele et alis is an open access article distributed under the Creative CommonsAttribution Licensewhich permits unrestricted use distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original work is properly cited
Soil acidity is one of the major factors limiting soil fertility and crop production in large areas of Ethiopia A two-monthincubation experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of lime vermicompost (VC) and chemical phosphorus (P) fertilizeron selected chemical properties of Dystric Nitisols in Ebantu District Western Ethiopia e treatments comprised of three ratesof lime (2 4 and 6 tons CaCO3middothaminus1) VC (25 5 and 75 tonsmiddothaminus1) andmineral P fertilizer (20 40 and 60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1) each appliedalone and in various combinations e experiment was laid down in a completely randomized design with two replications eresults showed that the highest increment of pH from 483 at the control to 605 and reduction of exchangeable Al from 170 to009 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 were obtained from combined application of lime at 4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1 and VC at 75 tonsmiddothaminus1 e mostsignificant decrease in exchangeable acidity (017 cmolckg-1) was observed in soil that was treated with 6 tons CaCO3middothaminus1 limeapplied alone (93) and combined application of lime at 4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1 with VC at 75 tonsmiddothaminus1 by (81) e highestcontents of OM (41) and total nitrogen (029) were obtained from combined application of lime at 4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1 and VCat 75 tonsmiddothaminus1 Integrated application of chemical P (60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1) with lime (2 tonsmiddothaminus1) plus VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) resulted inBray-II P increased by 45 relative to control e various combinations of the treatments also improved exchangeable Ca2+ andMg2+ e results indicate that integrated use of lime vermicompost and chemical P fertilizer can improve soil acidity andavailability of nutrients However the real potential of the amendments used in this experiment should be further assessed underfield conditions using a test crop
1 Introduction
Soil acidity is a widespread limitation to crop production inmany parts of the world [1] It is a major constraint toagricultural productivity throughout Africa where highrainfall is common due to the deficiencies of nitrogen (N) byleaching phosphorus (P) by fixation and low soil organicmatter (OM) [2ndash4] As indicated by Schlede [5] World Bank[6] and Wassie and Shiferaw [7] acidic soils cover a sig-nificant part of soils of Ethiopia Hence it is a serious threatto crop production in most highlands and a major cropproduction constraint in the small-scale farmers of the
country Specifically because of the severity of soil acidityproblem many crops give a very low productivity in thestudy district
Based on the problem that soil acidity causes on a largerareas in Ethiopia it needs due attention to be addressed bydifferent coping mechanisms [8] e productivity of cropsin acid soils with Al toxicity and low soil availability of P maybe improved by use of lime fertilizers with liming effectsandor organic materials [9 10] Lime is the most effectivemeans of amending soil acidity [2 11] Application of limecontaining Ca andor Mg compounds to acid soil increasesCa2+ andorMg2+ ions and reduces Al3+ H+ Mn2+ and Fe2+
HindawiApplied and Environmental Soil ScienceVolume 2018 Article ID 8178305 13 pageshttpsdoiorg10115520188178305
ions in the soil solution Hence this leads to increased soilpH and available P due to reduction in P sorption [1 3]Increasing soil pH liming makes other nutrients moreavailable and prevents Al and Mn from being toxic to plantgrowth [12] Liming also enhances root development andwater and nutrient uptakes necessary for healthy plantgrowth [1 11]
e Ethiopian soils similar to the other agricultural soilsof the tropics are generally low in P [13 14] and hence P isone of the limiting elements in crop production in thehighlands of Ethiopia Use of mineral P fertilizers increasesthe soil available P in P-deficient tropical acid soils [11 15]Melese et al [16] also suggested that application of themineral P fertilizer with other amendments can be used toimprove P deficiency in acid soils Even though the chemicalfertilizers including mineral P are used to increase pro-ductivity for a certain time their negative impacts coupledwith their high cost have prompted the interest in the use oforganic fertilizers as source of nutrients
Organic fertilizer application has been reported to im-prove crop growth by supplying plant nutrients as well asimproving soil physical chemical and biological properties[17] Vermicompost (VC) is one of the stabilized finely di-vided organic fertilizers with a low C N ratio high porosityand high water-holding capacity in which most nutrients arepresent in forms that are readily available for plants [18 19]ere is an increasing interest in the potential use of VC as soilamendment [20ndash22] Application of VC showed markedimprovements in the overall physical and biochemicalproperties and at the same time VC decreases exchangeableacidity which can support a release of plant nutrients in theacidic soils [23] Current trends in agriculture are centered onreducing the use of inorganic fertilizers by biofertilizers suchas VC [24] ere is good evidence that VC applicationpromotes growth of plants and positive effect on growth andproductivity of cereals and legumes [20 25 26] When it iscompared with conventional compost VC promotes growthfrom 50 to 100 over conventional compost and from 30 to40 over chemical fertilizers [27]
e combined application of inorganic and organicfertilizers is widely recognized as a way of improving pro-ductivity of the soil sustainably [28] Several researchers[28ndash31] have demonstrated the beneficial effect of integratednutrient management in mitigating the deficiency of severalmacro- and micronutrients
Many parts of the Ethiopian highlands have a problem ofacidity which causes the gradual reduction of soil fertilityand crop productivity Almost no research has been done onthe effect of VC individually and combined with lime andinorganic fertilizers in ameliorating the acidic soils of thecountry in general and the study area in particular exceptfew studies conducted on amendments of acidic soils by limeand lime with other organic and inorganic fertilizers otherthan VC in different areas [16 32ndash34]
Yet most researches just focus on the effect of differentameliorating material on soil acidity Indeed no work hasbeen done in ameliorating acidic soils and improving nu-trient deficiency by the individual and combined applica-tions of lime VC and mineral P erefore the objective of
this study was to evaluate the effects of lime VC andmineralP fertilizers in ameliorating soil acidity-related problems andother selected chemical properties on acidic soils of EbantuDistrict Western highlands of Ethiopia
2 Materials and Methods
21 Description of the Study Area and Sample Collectione study was conducted in Ebantu District East WollegaZone of Oromia National Regional State (ONRS) (Figure 1)It is located in the western part of Ethiopia at approximately483 km from Addis Ababa and around 153 km fromNekemte the capital city of East Wollega zone e districtlies between 9deg58prime30Prime to 10deg14prime0Prime N latitude and 36deg3prime0Prime to36deg 29prime0Prime E longitude and covers an estimated area of929 km2 with an altitude that ranges from 1994 to 2176meters above sea level (masl)
Geologically the study area is covered by the meta-morphic basement rocks in which tertiary volcanic rocksbuildup and that is characterized by fine granular rock smallcrystal which is invisible by necked eye is rock is char-acterized by large vesicles from where gas escaped out andused for percolation of precipitation [35] e predominantsoil type in southwest and western Ethiopia in general andthe study area in particular is Dystric Nitisols according to[36] the soil classification system Its vernacular name isldquoBiyyee Diimaardquo meaning red soil On the average the soil isdeep and relatively highly weathered well drained and verystrongly to strongly acidic in reaction Nitisols are highlyweathered soils in the warm and humid areas of the west andsouthwest Ethiopia [37]
In terms of topography 30 of the total area is gentleslope while flat and steep slope lands account for 52 and18 respectively Out of the total area of the district 35 iscovered by cultivated land 19 by grazing land 20 bynatural forest land 16 by fallow land and 8 by shrubsand about 2 is estimated to be area covered by settlement(Ebantu District Agricultural development Bureau 2014unpublished) e natural forest in the study area consists ofsome tree species that are remnants of a once dense ever-green forest occurring in various areas of the district edominant tree species in the area include Acacia etbaicaAcacia abyssinica Cordia africana Syzygium guineenseFicus sur Albizia julibrissin Eucalyptus sp Croton mac-rostachyus and Podocarpus falcatus (personal observation)
According to the local and the Ethiopian agroclimaticzonation [38] the study area belongs to the humid (Baddaa)and subhumid (Badda Daree) climatic zones e economicactivities of the local society of the study area are primarilymixed farming system that involves animal husbandry andcrop production Continuous cultivation without any fallowperiods coupled with complete removal of crop residues isa common practice on cultivated fields Farmers in the studyarea use diammonium phosphate (DAP) urea and cowdung as sources of fertilizersemajor crops are maize (Zeamays L) teff (Eragrostis tef) coffee (Coffee arabica L) barley(Hordeum vulgare L) potato (Solanum tuberosum L) andnoug (Guizotia abyssinica) ese major crops are producedusually once per year
2 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
e district receives an annual average rainfall of 1778mmand has monthly mean minimum maximum and meanair temperatures of 166 20 and 183degC respectively [39](Figure 2) e rainfall pattern is unimodal stretching fromApril to October
A bulk soil sample was taken from the surface soil (0ndash20 cm) from the very strongly acidic soil of the WalgayiSoruma sampling site in Ebantu District Western Highlandsof Ethiopia Totally three composite samples were collectedfrom the three blocks Soil samples were collected by augerfrom eighteen subsamples in each block and thoroughlymixed to make a composite e soil was air-dried groundand passed through a 2mm and 05mm sieve and analyzedfor selected soil physicochemical properties At the same
time a total of 3 undisturbed soil samples at 0ndash20 cm depthlayer to determine soil bulk density (BD) of the area werecollected in random by taking one sample per block usingthe core method All the laboratory activities were un-dertaken at Haramaya University and the Nekemte SoilResearch Center
22 Set Up of the Incubation Experiment e incubationexperiment was conducted for two months as describedbelow e composite soil sample with three replicates wasair-dried ground and passed with 2mm sieve and then03 kg soil was placed in plastic pot and mixed with dierenttreatments in a greenhouse During incubation soil
Figure 1 Location map of Ethiopia regions (a) and Oromia National Regional State (ONRS) (b)
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 3
moisture was adjusted to a constant weight 60 (eld ca-pacity) with distilled water at the end of every 3-day period
In this experiment lime (CaCO3) at rates of 2 4 and6 tonsmiddothaminus1 (corresponding with 0231 0462 and 0693 g03 kg soil resp) based on the results from LR tests to reachdesired pH values three VC rates (25 5 and 75 tonsmiddothaminus1)and three mineral P fertilizer rates (20 40 and 60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1)as triple superphosphate (Ca(H2PO4)2) were separatelyapplied uniformly to the whole soil volume e lime rate(4 tonsmiddothaminus1) was combined separately with each of VC andmineral P fertilizer rates as treatments VC rate (5 tonsmiddothaminus1)was combined separately with each of mineral P fertilizerrate and dierent rates of lime and VC and mineral P werecombined and applied to the soil as additional ve treat-ments A control treatment with no soil amendments wasused for the incubation experiment A total of 48 pots wereused for the incubation experimente experiment was laiddown in a completely randomized design (CRD) with tworeplications e units of the treatments were converted intohectare bases by assuming that the plough depth is 20 cmand ρb of the soil is 13 gmiddotcm
minus3 e soils were incubated withthe treatments in the pots for two months (November andDecember 2014) at Haramaya University main campus (rare)
Soil samples were taken at the end of the incubationtime air-dried ground and sieved through 2mm and05mm sieve to observe the eects of lime VC andmineral Pindividually and in combined form on selected soil acidityrelated and other soil chemical properties at HaramayaUniversity central and soil chemistry laboratory
23 SoilAnalyses Soil particle size distribution was analyzedby the Bouyoucus hydrometer method [40] after the soilsamples were dispersed with sodium hexametaphosphate[(NaPO3)6] Soil bulk density (ρb) was measured from threeundisturbed soil samples collected using a core sampler(25 cm radius and 50 cm height) as per the proceduredescribed by Jamison et al [41] while particle density (ρs)wasmeasured using the pycnometer [42] at the Nekemte Soil
Research Center Total porosity (φ) was calculated from thevalues of ρb and ρs as follows
φ 1minusρbρs
( )lowast 100 (1)
Soil pH was measured potentiometrically in 1 25 soil H2O suspension using a combined glass electrode pH meter[43] Total exchangeable acidity was determined by satu-rating the soil samples with 1MmiddotKCl suspension as describedby [44] From the same extract exchangeable Al in the soilsamples was determined by application of 1MmiddotNaF whichforms a complex with Al and releases NaOH Acid satu-ration (AS) was calculated as follows
AS () exchangeable acidity cmolc middotkg
minus1( )ECEC cmolc middotkg
minus1( )times 100 (2)
where AS refers to acid saturation and ECEC refers to ef-fective cation exchange capacity
Organic carbon (OC) content of the soil was determinedby the wet combustion procedure of Walkley and Black [45]Organic matter was determined by multiplying OC by 1724factors e total nitrogen (N) content of the soil was deter-mined by wet-oxidation procedure of the Kjeldahl method[46] Available P was extracted by the Bray-II method [47]using 003MmiddotNH4F and 01MmiddotHCl solution
Exchangeable basic cations (Ca Mg K and Na) weredetermined by saturating several times the soil samples with1MmiddotNH4OAc solution at pH 70 en Ca and Mg weredetermined by using atomic absorption spectrophotometry(AAS) while exchangeable Na and K were measured bybrvbarame photometer from the same extract [48] e eectivecation exchange capacity (ECEC) was calculated as the sumof exchangeable acidity (Al3+ and H+) and exchangeablebasic cations (Ca2+ Mg2+ K+ and Na+) [49]
e extractable micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) wereextracted by diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA)and all these micronutrients were measured by AAS [50]
24 Vermicompost and LimeAnalyses eVC was preparedfrom decomposition of cow dung sheep and goat manurescrop and home residues and weeds and grasses by using redearthworm (Eisenia fetida) Selected parameters of VC weredetermined using dried samples which were ground to passthrough a 2mm sieve as described by Pisa and Wuta [51]Electrical conductivity (EC) and pH were determined froma suspension of 1 10 VC H2O as described by Ndegwa andompson [52] e total OC was estimated by the wetdigestion and rapid titration method [45] e total Ncontent of the VC was determined by wet-oxidation pro-cedure of the Kjeldahl method [46] Total Ca Mg K and Nawere extracted by wet digestion using concentrated sul-phuric acid (H2SO4) selenium (Se) powder lithium sulphate(Li2SO4) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) mixture [53] TotalCa and Mg were determined from the wet digested samplesby AAS while K and Na were estimated by brvbarame pho-tometer Total P was extracted using concentrated H2SO4 Se
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov DecMonth
Mean rainfall (mm)Mean max (degC)Mean min (degC)
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Mea
n ra
infa
ll (m
m)
0
5
10
15
20
25
Tem
pera
ture
(degC)
Figure 2 Mean monthly rainfall (mm) minimum and maximumtemperatures (degC) of the study area recorded for the year from 2006to 2015 Source National Meteorological Agency Gida AyanaMeteorological Station
4 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
powder salicylic acid (C7H6O3) and H2O2 mixture [53]Total micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) were extractedusing concentrated H2SO4 Se powder C7H6O3 and H2O2mixture and their concentrations were determined from thewet digested samples by AAS [53]
e calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE) of the Guderlime was determined by dissolving the lime using excess ofstandard 05MmiddotHCl and followed by gentle boiling Afterfiltration the excess HCl was back titrated with standard01MmiddotNaOH solution From the amount of NaOH used toneutralize the excess acid of the blank and the filtrate theCCE value of the lime was calculated [50]
Lime requirement was determined by the acid saturationmethod to ameliorate the acidic soil of the study site for themaize crop e acid saturation method uses exchangeableacidity ECEC and permissible acid saturation percentage ofcrops to calculate the amount of lime to be applied Using theacid saturation method lime requirement is calculated asfollows [54]
LR kg middothaminus11113872 1113873 LRF [Ex acidity minus(ECEClowastPAS)] (3)
where LR lime requirement LRF lime requirementfactor (kgmiddotlimemiddothaminus1) to lower the Ex acidity by 1 cmol(3000 kg limehacmole) [55] for most Ethiopian soilsEx acidity exchangeable acidity (Al3+ +H+) PAS per-missible acid saturation and ECEC effective cation ex-change capacity (exchangeable acidity + exchangeable bases)
25 Statistical Analysis Analysis of variance was carried outon the effect of treatments on selected soil chemical propertiesusing SAS software [56] Duncanrsquos multiple range test wasemployed to test the significance difference between means oftreatments Simple Pearson correlation analysis was executedto determine the associations between various soil acidityparameters and different soil chemical properties
3 Results and Discussion
31 Initial Soil Properties and Vermicompost Compositione results of laboratory analysis of selected properties of thesoil used for the experiment are presented in Table 1 etextural class of the soil used for the incubation experimentis loam e bulk density of the soil was below the criticalvalue of bulk density (16 gcmminus3) for plant growth at whichroot penetration is likely to be severely restricted in a loamsoil [57] while the particle density is lower than the averageparticle density value for a mineral soil Due to the low bulkdensity value the total porosity of the soil was relativelyhigh e soil was strongly acidic [57] with relatively highcontent of exchangeable acidity and Al e percentage acidsaturation of the soil was 307e organic matter and totalnitrogen contents of the soil were in the range of low andmoderate respectively [58] while the available P contentwas in the low range [59] Similarly the mean soil ex-changeable Ca and K were low whereas exchangeable Mgwas within the range of medium [60] e effective CEC ofthe soils was also relatively low probably due to the dom-inance of low activity clay minerals in the highly weathered
soils of the study area As per rating suggested by Jones [57]the soil was high in DTPA-extractable Fe Mn and Zn andmedium in extractable Cu [57] In general the results of thesoil preanalysis clearly indicate that the soil has soil fertilityproblems that include deficiency of major plant nutrientsand soil acidity that limit successful production of crops inthe study area is calls for development of appropriatemanagement practices that enhance crop production ona sustainable basis
e lime used in this study had CCE value of 887Table 2 shows the nutrient contents of the vermicompostused for the experiment e nutrients are likely to be
Table 1 Selected physical and chemical properties of the exper-imental soil before incubation
Parameters ValueSand () 500Silt () 380Clay () 120Textural class LoamBD (gmiddotcmminus3) 130PD (gmiddotcmminus3) 228TP () 4300pH (H2O) 480Exchangeable acidity (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 244Exchangeable Al (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 203AS () 3070OM () 215Total N () 018Available P by Bray-II (mgmiddotkgminus1) 460Exchangeable Ca (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 351Exchangeable Mg (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 161Exchangeable K (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 027Exchangeable Na (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 011ECEC (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 794Fe (mgmiddotkgminus1) 3510Mn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 3670Zn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 296Cu (mgmiddotkgminus1) 273BD bulk density PD particle density TP total porosity AS acid satu-ration OM organic matter total N total nitrogen ECEC effective cationexchange capacity
Table 2 Chemical characterization of vermicompost
Vermicompost ValuepH (H2O) (1 10) 75EC (dSmminus1) (1 10) 52Total OC () 143Total N () 195Total P (gmiddotkgminus1) 53Ca (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 363Mg (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 198K (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 277Na (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 142Fe (mgmiddotkgminus1) 2190Mn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 3970Zn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 1520Cu (mgmiddotkgminus1) 950EC electrical conductivity total OC total organic carbon total N totalnitrogen total P total phosphorus
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 5
derived from decomposition of the organic matter by theactivities of microorganisms e contents of the VC coulddecrease soil acidity and enhance soil fertility in the stronglyacidic soils of the study area is is manifested by the highpH of the compost In line with the findings of this studyWael et al [61] stated that VC was used to increase the pH inacidic soils and reduce Al and Mn toxicity because of itsalkalinity Arancon et al [18] and Asciutto et al [62] alsoreported that VC contains most nutrients such as ex-changeable Ca phosphates and soluble K in plant availableforms
32 Effects of Treatments on pH Exchangeable Acidity and AlandAcid Saturation e lime at each respective applicationlevel alone or in combination with VC had significant(Ple 0001) effects on soil pH exchangeable acidity and Aland acid saturation (AS) (Table 3) e highest lime rate (6tonsmiddotCaCO3middothaminus1) significantly (Ple 0001) increased the pHfrom 480 to 601 reduced both the exchangeable acidity andAl from 24 to 017 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 and 170 to 033 cmolcmiddotkgminus1respectively and reduced acid saturation from 30 to 162
is might be because lime contains Ca2+ cation to exchangeandor replace H+ ion on the exchange sites and anions suchas CO3
2- to neutralize the H+ ion released from the exchangesites and hydrolyzing Al species to the soil solution Inconsent with the results of this study Kisinyo et al [63] andKisinyo et al [15] reported that application of lime to acidsoils increased Ca2+ andor Mg2+ ions and reduced Al3+ H+Mn2+ and Fe2+ ions in the soil solution
Vermicompost at each respective application levels hadalso significant (Ple 0001) effects on the soil pH ex-changeable acidity and Al and AS (Table 3) e rise in soilpH due to application of VC might be attributed to its highcontent of basic cations and pH which could reduce soilacidity and the contents of exchangeable acidity and Althrough replacing the acidic cations from the exchange sitesis is in agreement with the findings of Angelova et al [64]who pointed out that the direction of the change in soil pH asa result of VC application reflected the initial pH of VC
Generally the combination of all lime-VC treatmentssignificantly (Ple 0001) increased soil pH and decreasedexchangeable acidity and Al relative to the control (Table 3)Combination of the highest level of VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) with
Table 3 Effects of the treatments on pH exchangeable acidity and exchangeable Al and percent acid saturation of soil in the incubationstudy
Treatment Rate pH Ex Ac Ex Al AScmolcmiddotkgminus1
CV () mdash 203 251 255 514lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testEx Ac exchangeable acidity Ex Al exchangeable aluminium AS acid saturation chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient ofvariation
6 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) increased pH from 480 to 605 and decreasedexchangeable acidity and Al from 238 to 017 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 and045 to 009 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 respectively (Table 3) When lime ata rate of 4 tonsmiddothaminus1 was applied to the soil in combination withVC at the rate of 5 and 75 tonsmiddothaminus1 the soil pH increased to theoptimum pH for many crops e correlation analysis alsoindicated that the pH of the soils was correlated with the ex-changeable acidity (r minus087lowastlowast Ple 001) exchangeable Al(r minus087lowastlowast Ple 001) and AS (r minus088lowastlowast Ple 001) (Ta-ble 4) is is in agreement with Opala et al [65] who indicatedthat the combination of organic fertilizers having liming effectand inorganic fertilizers decreased exchangeable acidity which inturn increased soil pH
e chemical P fertilizer had no significant (Ple 0001)effect on soil pH exchangeable acidity and Al and AS whenapplied alone over the control (Table 3) Along with thisKisinyo et al [63] reported that application of the P fertilizeralone to acidic soils did not increase the soil pH neitherreduced soil exchangeable acidity
33 Effects of Treatments on Organic Matter Total Nitrogenand Available Phosphorus Compared to the control all theother treatments showed significant (Ple 0001) increase insoil OM except all levels of chemical P and the combination oflime (4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1) with all levels of the chemical Pfertilizer (Table 5) e highest content of OM (41) wasobtained when the soil was treated by the combination of lime(4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1) with highest level of VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1)(Table 5) Lime and VC application either individually or incombination increased soil pH and OM content which inturn enhances the microbial population An increase in pHmay decrease the stress on soil microbes and microbial ac-tivity and thus increases soil OM is is supported by thecorrelation in which pH was positively and significantly(r 055lowastlowast Ple 001) correlated with OM (Table 4) Inagreement with this Amba et al [66] indicated that soil OCincrement after the application of lime and manure wasassociated with the general improvement of soil conditions
e application of treatments significantly (Ple 0001)increased soil total N except the three rates of the chemical Pfertilizer alone (Table 5)e application of OM in the form ofVC is expected to increase theOM and TN contents of the soil
is is also evidenced by the total by the positive and sig-nificant correlation between total N (r 089lowastlowast Ple 001)and OM (Table 4)is is in agreement with Adeleye et al [67]and Efthimiadou et al [68] who stated that soil total N in-creases when biofertilizers are solely applied due to the ad-dition of OMMary and Sivagami [69] also reported that VC isrich in total Ne highest increment of total N (029mgmiddotkgminus1)was obtained when lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) was applied in com-bination with VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) (Table 5) Similar to theresults of the current study Biruk et al [34] reported increasein total N in acidic soils treated with lime and compost
e available P of the soil varied from 45 to 83mgmiddotkgminus1after incubation (Table 5) e highest available P was ob-tained when chemical P (60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1) lime (2 tonsmiddothaminus1)and VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) were applied in combinationerefore the application of the treatments at these ratessignificantly (Ple 00001) increased available P by 45 overthe control (Table 5) is might be due to the significant(Ple 0001) increase in soil pH due to the effect of lime andVC which in turn reduced P fixation is is also supportedby the results of the simple correlation analysis which in-dicated that the available P of the soil was positively andsignificantly correlated to the pH (r 069lowastlowast Ple 001)(Table 4)is is in harmony with the findings of Anetor andAkinrinde [70] who indicated that increase in soil pH due tolime application reduced P fixation Similarly Kisinyo et al[63] reported that the application of lime and chemical Pfertilizer in sole or combination had significantly positiveeffect on soil pH and available P in acid soils Application ofthe P fertilizer increased available P due to increase of P insoil Similar increase in soil available P in tropical soils hasbeen reported by Kisinyo et al [15] and Opala et al [4]Combined application of chemical P and VC increased soilavailable P more than when either of them were appliedalone is was because the organic material reduced soil Psorption making both the soil native P and the applied Pfertilizer available for plant uptake Similar results werereported by Kisinyo [71] and Opala et al [72]
34 Effects of Treatments on Exchangeable Bases andEffective Cation Exchange Capacity Soil exchangeable Cawas significantly (Ple 0001) increased by the application of
Table 4 Pearson correlation coefficients r among selected soil chemical properties
pH2O Ex Ac Ex Al AS OM TN BP Ca Mg K NaEx Ac minus087lowastlowastEx Al minus087lowastlowast 093lowastlowastAS minus088lowastlowast 092lowastlowast 087lowastlowastOM 055lowastlowast minus026 minus039lowast minus050lowastlowastTN 075lowastlowast minus051lowastlowast minus063lowastlowast minus067lowastlowast 089lowastlowastBP 069lowastlowast minus056lowastlowast minus053lowastlowast minus066lowastlowast 057lowastlowast 065lowastlowastCa 072lowastlowast minus057lowastlowast minus059lowastlowast minus081lowastlowast 085lowastlowast 083lowastlowast 065lowastlowastMg 078lowastlowast 078lowastlowast minus071lowastlowast minus080lowastlowast 081lowastlowast 085lowastlowast 059lowastlowast 091lowastlowastK 084lowastlowast minus076lowastlowast minus081lowastlowast minus088lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 082lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 084lowastlowast 085lowastlowastNa 079lowastlowast minus075lowastlowast minus075lowastlowast minus089lowastlowast 062lowastlowast 074lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 081lowastlowast 076lowastlowast 091lowastlowastFe minus079lowastlowast 086lowastlowast 083lowastlowast 089lowastlowast minus031lowast minus054lowastlowast minus058lowastlowast minus064lowastlowast minus065lowastlowast minus065lowastlowast minus085lowastlowastlowast lowastlowastSignificant at 005 and 001 probability levels respectively Ex Ac exchangeable acidity Ex Al exchangeable aluminium AS acid saturation OM organicmatter TN total nitrogen BP Bray-II P
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 7
all treatments except the application of chemical P alone(Table 6) e highest (77 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) and lowest(35 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) soil exchangeable Ca was obtained when thesoil was treated by VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) plus lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)and chemical P (40kgmiddothaminus1) respectively relative to the control(Table 6) Furthermore lime and VC when applied separatelyincreased soil exchangeable Ca over the control (Table 6) eincrease in exchangeable Ca due to the combined use of limeand VC could be associated with the release of Ca2+ from theapplied lime through its dissolution and vermicompost whichreplaces the acidic cations from the exchange siteerefore themost effective and significant increase was observed when VCwas combined with lime plus the chemical P fertilizeris is inagreement with the previous works of Hassen et al [73] andAdeleye et al [67] who reported increase in exchangeable Cafollowing combined application of lime and organic fertilizers
Soil exchangeable Mg was also significantly (Ple 0001)increased as a result of the treatments applied except thechemical P fertilizer (Table 6) Accordingly the highestexchangeable Mg (344 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) was recorded from in theapplication of lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) with VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1)(Table 6) e increased soil exchangeable Mg as a result oflime and VC application might be attributed to increase in
soil pH which in turn may have increased Mg availability inthe soil When VC was combined with lime and chemical Pfertilizer soil exchangeable Mg was increased and this wasattributed to addition of nutrients to the soil from the VC Inaddition the increase of soil pH by VC reduces Al3+ and H+
content in soil exchange sites and then increased Mgavailability e results are in agreement with those ofRepsiene and Skuodiene [74] and Andric et al [75] whoreported that soil exchangeable bases increased when acidicsoil was amended by lime and manure
e increase in soil exchangeable K and Na due toapplication of VC alone or in combination with the P fer-tilizer plus lime could be due to added K and Na from VCe VC used in the current study had 277 and142 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 of K and Na contents respectively whichmight have added significant amounts of these nutrients tothe soil (Table 2) is is supported by the report of Ayeniand Adetunji [76] Adeleye et al [67] and Adeniyan et al[77] who indicated that soil exchangeable bases increasewhen the biofertilizer was applied alone or in combinationwith the lime and P fertilizer
e effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) of the soilwas significantly (Ple 0001) affected by all treatments except
Table 5 Effects of treatments on organic matter total nitrogen and available phosphorus of the soil after incubation
Treatment Rate OM TN Bray mgmiddotkgminus1 II PControl 0 213l 020ij 45l
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 217jkl 021hi 56k
4 221jk 021hi 63gh
6 228i 023gh 62h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 217jkl 020ij 57jk
40 214l 019j 60i
60 216kl 021hi 62h
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 272h 021hi 58ij
50 320f 023gh 60i
75 399b 027abc 63gh
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 224ij 022hi 65f
CV () mdash 1 364 141lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testOM organic matter TN total nitrogen CN carbon to nitrogen ratio chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
8 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
the chemical P fertilizer when applied at the rate of 40 and60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1 (Table 6) is increase was due to improvedsoil conditions such as soil pH increased soil Ca Mg K andNa by VC and lime and increase of negative charges on thesurfaces of the soil colloids following the rise in pH eECEC increment might also be caused by deprotonation ofpH-dependent charge sites arising from VC is is inagreement with the findings of Edmeades [78] who statedthat ECEC increased with increasing pH of soils e ECECwas significantly increased with the increase of VC due to thegreater contents of exchangeable bases of VC is is sup-ported by Pandey and Shukla [79] who indicated that ap-plication of VC changed ECEC of the soil due to the changeof negative surfaces of the soil colloids
35 Effects of Treatments on Extractable Micronutrients (FeMn Zn and Cu) e extractable micronutrients weresignificantly (Ple 0001) affected by treatments (Table 7)Under almost all the treatments all extractable micro-nutrients decreased relative to the control (Table 7) eextractability of Fe Mn Zn and Cu tends to decrease as soilpH increased e exact mechanisms responsible for
reducing availability differ for each nutrient but can includeformation of low solubility compounds greater retention bysoil colloids when lime and VC are applied
e decrease in extractable Fe may be due to the changein pH caused by the amendments because the bioavailabilityof DTPA-extractable Fe was decreased when pH of the soilincreased In consent with this Imerb et al [80] and Waelet al [61] reported that extractable Fe decreased at pH levelsnear neutral or higher e application of lime and VCdecreased extractable Mn as compared with the control ismight be due to high CEC of organic fertilizer and its abilityto form chelate complexes with this nutrient Along withthis Angelova et al [64] reported that the application ofamendments decreased the extractable Mn concentration inthe soil which might be due to immobilization of Mn by theapplication of VC Extractable Zn was decreased signifi-cantly (Ple 0001) by the application of lime and VC and alsoin combination of all treatments is may be due to theincrement of soil pH and also the formation of insolubleform of Zn compound when it reacts with VC is inagreement with Walker et al [81] who pointed out that Znavailability is controlled by soil pH Angelova et al [64] alsoindicated that Zn can form insoluble compound precipitates
Table 6 Effects of treatments on exchangeable bases and effective cation exchange capacity
Treatment Rate Ex Ca Ex Mg Ex K Ex Na ECECcmolcmiddotkgminus1
CV () mdash 45 118 463 3 246lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testEx Ca exchangeable calcium Ex Mg exchangeable magnesium Ex K exchangeable potassium Ex Na exchangeable sodium ECEC effective cationexchange capacity chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9
during the mineralization of organic ameliorants e ex-tractable Cu was decreased by the application of amend-ments Especially VC supplements lead to lower content ofDTPA-extractable Cu is may be due to the trans-formation of OM in stable form that could link more Cu Inconcord to this Angelova et al [64] reported that enrich-ment of soil with OM could reduce the bioavailable Cu asa result of complexation of free ions of Cu
4 Conclusion
e study revealed that soils of the study area have limi-tations related to deficiency of major plant nutrient elementsand soil acidity As a result most of the soil propertiesmeasured responded positively to applications of lime VCand chemical P fertilizer either in combination or aloneisincubation experiment demonstrated that the application oflime VC and chemical P fertilizer could mitigate soil acidityand Al toxicity as well as improve soil fertility of acidic soilsof the study areae combined application of medium ratesof lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) and chemical P(40 kgmiddothaminus1) holds a lot of promise as an efficient alternativeto amend soil acidity and increase soil nutrient availabilityHowever the results need to be confirmed under field
conditions and the economic feasibility of application ofa particular combination needs to be quantified ereforefurther field work is recommended to verify this result
Conflicts of Interest
e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest
Acknowledgments
is work was supported by the Haramaya University re-search site (rare greenhouse) Haramaya University CentralLaboratory and Ethiopian Ministry of Education e au-thors acknowledge these institutions and staff members ofHaramayaUniversity Central Laboratory particularlyMr BaneKebede and staffmembers of greenhouse and the Nekemte SoilResearch Center for providing them the necessary support toconduct this study
References
[1] P Van Streaten Agro Geology the Use of Rocks for CropsEnviroquest Ltd Cambridge ON Canada 2007
Table 7 e effects of treatments on extractable micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) of the soil of the study area
Treatment Rate Fe Mn Zn Cumgmiddotkgminus1
Control 0 40a 36a 306a 365a
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 241c 31d 296bc 343b
4 166d 25h 241e 315d
6 143e 17k 223f 286h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 397a 36a 309a 366a
40 405a 36a 308a 365a
60 40a 36a 303ab 371a
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 307b 35b 299b 332c
5 298b 33c 290c 316d
75 298b 26g 278d 298ef
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 166d 24h 243e 314d
CV () mdash 314 103 123 092lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testchemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[2] S Kenyanjua M L Ireri S Wambua and S M NandwaldquoAcid soils in Kenya constraints and remedial optionsrdquo 2002KARI Technical Note No 11
[3] P O Kisinyo Constraints of soil acidity and nutrient depe-letion on maize (Zea mays L) production in Kenya PhDthesis Moi University Eldoret Kenya PhD thesis 2011
[4] P A Opala P O Kisinyo and R O Nyambati ldquoEffects ofTithonia diversifolia farmyard manure urea and phosphatefertilizer application methods on maize yields in westernKenyardquo Journal of Agriculture of Rural Develoment of Tropicsand Subtropics vol 116 no 1 pp 1ndash9 2015
[5] H Schlede Distribution of acid soils and liming materials inEthiopia Ethiopian Institute of Geological Surveys Ministryof Mines and Energy Addis Ababa Ethiopia 1989
[6] World Bank Staff Appraisal Report National Fertilizer SectorProject Ethiopia 1995 Report No 13722-ET
[7] W Haile and S Boke Mitigation of Soil Acidity and FertilityDecline Challenges for Sustainable Livelihood ImprovementResearch Findings from Southern Region of Ethiopia and ItsPolicy Implications Awassa Agricultural Research InstituteAwassa Ethiopia 2009
[8] M Abebe Ce Nature and Management of Acid Soils inEthiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2007
[9] V Viterello F Capadi and V Stefanuto ldquoRecent advances inAl and resentance in higher plantsrdquo Brazil Plant Physiologyvol 17 no 1 pp 129ndash143 2005
[10] E Ouma D Ligeyo T Matonyei et al ldquoEnhancing maizegrain yield in acid soils of Western Kenya using Al tolerantgermplasmrdquo Journal of Agricultural Science and Technologyvol 3 pp 33ndash46 2013
[11] C e H Calba C Zonkeng E M Ngonkeu andV O Adetimirin ldquoResponse of maize grain yield to changesin acid soil characterstics after soil amendmentrdquo Plant Soilvol 284 pp 45ndash57 2006
[12] M K Yao P K Angui S Konate et al ldquoEffects of land usetypes on soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics in mid-west Cote drsquoIvoirerdquo European Journal of Science and Researchvol 40 pp 211ndash222 2010
[13] N Z Lupwayi and I Haque ldquoPhosphorous a prerequisite forincreased productivity of forage and browsefree legumes inthe Ethiopian highlandsrdquo in Proceedings of the Second Con-ference of the Ethiopian Society of Soil Science Addis AbabaEthiopia September 1993
[14] S Boke ldquoSoil phosphorous fractions influenced by differentcropping system in Andosols and Nitisols in Kambata-Tenbaro and Wolaita Zones SNNPRS Ethiopiardquo AlemayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia MSc thesis 2004
[15] P O Kisinyo C O Othieno S O Gudu et al ldquoImmediateand residual effects of lime and phosphorus fertilizer on soilacidity and maize production in western Kenyardquo Experi-mental agriculture vol 50 no 1 pp 128ndash143 2014
[16] A Melese Y Markku and B Yitaferu ldquoEffects of lime woodash manure and mineral P fertilizer rates on acidity relatedchemical properties and growth and P uptake of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) on acid soil of Farta district North-western Highlands of Ethiopiardquo International Journal ofAgriculture and Crop Sciences vol 8 no 2 pp 256ndash269 2015
[17] D Mengesha and L Mekonnen ldquoIntegrated agronomic cropmanagements to improve teff productivity under terminaldroughtrdquo in Water Stress I Md M Rahman andH Hasegawa Eds pp 235ndash254 Intech Open ScienceLondon UK 2012
[18] N Q Arancon C A Edwards R Atiyeh and J D MetzgerldquoEffects of vermicompost produced from food waste on the
growth and yields of greenhouse peppersrdquo Bio-ResourcesTechnology vol 93 no 2 pp 139ndash144 2004
[19] J Dominguez ldquoState of the art and new perspectives onvermicomposting researchrdquo in Earthworm EcologyC A Edwardspp 401ndash424 CRC Press Boca Raton FL USA2nd edition 2004
[20] R M Azarmi T Giglou and R D Taleshmikail ldquoInfluence ofvermicompost on soil chemical and physical properties intomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) fieldrdquo African Journal ofBio-technology vol 7 pp 2397ndash2401 2008
[21] L Angin E L Aksakal T Oztas and A Hanay ldquoEffects ofmunicipal solid waste compost (MSWC) application oncertain physical properties of soils subjected to freeze-thawrdquoSoil Tillage Research vol 130 pp 58ndash61 2013
[22] J Lordan M Pascual and F Fonseca ldquoUse of rice husk toenhance peach tree performance in soil switch limitingphysical propertiesrdquo Soil Tillage and Research vol 129pp 19ndash22 2013
[23] R Abafita ldquoEvaluation of vermicompost on maize pro-ductivity and determine optimum rate for maize productionrdquoWorld Journal of Biology and Medical Sciences vol 3 no 1pp 9ndash22 2016
[24] M R Haj Seyed Hadi M T Darzi Z Ghandehari andG H Riazi ldquoEffects of vermicompost and amino acids on theflower yield and essential oil production from Matricariachamomilla L J of Medrdquo Plants Research vol 5 no 23pp 5611ndash5617 2011
[25] S Suthar ldquoEffect of vermicompost and inorganic fertilizer onwheat (Triticum aestivum) productionrdquo Nature Environ-mental Pollution Technology vol 5 pp 197ndash201 2006
[26] S I Glenda B Ismet K Skender and B Astrit ldquoe influenceof vermicompost on plant growth characteristics of cucumber(Cucumis sativus L) seedlings under saline conditionsrdquoJournal of Food Agriculture and Environmental vol 7pp 869ndash872 2009
[27] R K Sinha S Agarwal K Chaudhan and D Valani ldquoewonders of earthworms and its vermicomposting in farmproduction Charles Darwinrsquos friends of farmersrsquo with po-tential to replace destructive chemical fertilizers from agri-culturerdquo Agricultural Science vol 1 no 2 pp 76ndash94 2010
[28] A Mahajan R M Bhagat and R D Gupta ldquoIntegratednutrient management in sustainable rice-wheat croppingsystem for food security in Indiardquo SAARC Journal of Agri-culture vol 6 no 2 pp 29ndash32 2008
[29] R Singh and S K Agarwal ldquoGrowth and yield of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) as influenced by levels of farmyardmanure and nitrogenrdquo Indian Journal of Agronomy vol 46no 3 pp 462ndash467 2001
[30] G Angachew ldquoAmeliorating effects of organic and inorganicfertilizers on crop productivity and soil properties on reddish-brown soilsrdquo in Proceedings of the 10th Conference of theEthiopian Society of Soil Science pp 127ndash150 Addis AbabaEthiopia March 2009
[31] A F Gafar M Yassin D Ibrahim and S O Yagoob ldquoEffectof different (bio organic and inorganic) fertilizers on someyield components of rice (Oryza sativa L)rdquo Universal Journalof Agricultural Research vol 2 no 2 pp 67ndash70 2014
[32] A Chimdi H Gebrekidan K Kibret and A Tadesse ldquoEffectsof liming on acidity-related chemical properties of soils ofdifferent land use systems in Western Oromia EthiopiardquoWorld Journal of Agricultural Science vol 8 no 6 pp 560ndash567 2012
[33] A Kidanemariam ldquoSoil acidity characterization and effects ofliming and chemical fertilization on dry matter yield and
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
nutrient uptake of wheat (Triticum aestivum L) on soils ofTsegede District Northern Ethiopiardquo PhD thesis HaramayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia PhD thesis 2013
[34] B Teshome ldquoEffect of compost lime and P on selectedproperties of acidic soils of Asosardquo Journal of Biology Ag-riculture and Healthcare vol 7 no 5 pp 2224ndash3208 2017
[35] A Abraham Studied Rock Units of Western Ethiopia AddisAbaba EthiopiaGeological Survey Bulletin Note No 305 1990
[36] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) Edited by P Driessen J Deckers andF Nachtergaele Eds Food and Agricultural OrganizationsRome Italy 2001
[37] M AbebeNatures andManagement of Ethiopian Soils AlemayaUniversity of Agriculture Haramaya Ethiopia 1998
[38] FAO (Food andAgricultureOrganization of theUnitedNations)Soil Map of the World Revised Legend World Soil ResourceReport 60 FAO Rome Italy 1990
[39] NMA (National Meteorological Agency) Gida AyanaWeather Station Rainfall and Temperature Data NMA AsosaEthiopia 2015
[40] G H Bouyoucos ldquoA recalibration of the hydrometer formaking mechanical analysis of soilsrdquo Agricultural Journalsvol 43 pp 434ndash438 1951
[41] V C Jamison H H Weaver and I F Reed ldquoA hammer-driven soil core samplerrdquo Soil Science vol 69 pp 487ndash4961950
[42] T C Barauah and H P Barthakulh A Text Book of SoilAnalysis Vikas Publishing House New Delhi India 1997
[43] S H Chopra and J S Kanwar Analytical AgriculturalChemistry Kalyani Publisher Bengaluru India 1976
[44] D L Rowell Method and Applications Addison WesleyLongman Limited London UK 1994
[45] A Walkley and I A Black ldquoAn examination of the Degtjareffmethod for determining soil organic matter and proposedmodification of the titration methodrdquo Soil Science vol 37pp 29ndash38 1934
[46] J M Bremner and C S Mulvaney ldquoNitrogen-totalrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Part 2 Chemical and MicrobiologicalProperties A L Page R HMiller andD R Keeneypp 595ndash624American Society of AgronomyMadisonWI USA 2nd edition1982
[47] H R Bray and L T Kurtz ldquoDetermination of organic andavailable forms of phosphorus in soilsrdquo Soil Science vol 59no 1 pp 39ndash46 1945
[48] H D Chapman ldquoCation exchange capacity by ammoniumsaturationrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Agronomy Part II No9 CA Black Ed pp 891ndash901 American Society ofAgronomy Madison WI USA 1965
[49] M Pansu and J Gautheyrou Handbook of Soil AnalysisSpringer New York NY USA 2006
[50] S Sertsu and T Bekele ldquoProcedures for soil and plantanalysisrdquo National Soil Research Center Ethiopian Agricul-tural Research Organization (EARO) Addis Ababa EthiopiaTechnical paper 74 2000
[51] C Pisa andMWuta ldquoEvaluation of composting performanceof mixtures of chicken blood and maize stover in HarareZimbabwerdquo International Journal of Recycling of OrganicWaste in Agriculture vol 2 no 1 pp 1ndash11 2013
[52] P M Ndegwa and S A ompson ldquoIntegrating compostingand vermicomposting in the treatment and bioconversion ofsolidsrdquo Bioresource Technology vol 76 pp 107ndash112 2001
[53] J R Okalebo K W Guthua and P J Woomer LaboratoryMethods of Soil and Plant Analysis a Working Manual TSBF-CIAT and SACRED Africa Nairobi Kenya 2002
[54] A D Manson and V Katusic Potato Fertilization in Kwa-zulu-Natal Cedara Report NoNA9724 Cedara Reportsand Publications 1997
[55] M P W Farina and P Chanon ldquoA field comparison of limerequirement indices for maizerdquo Plant and Soil vol 134pp 127ndash135 1991
[56] SAS (Statistical Analysis System) SASSTAT Userrsquos GuideProprietary Software Version 92 SAS Inst Inc Cary NCUSA 2004
[57] J B JonesAgronomic Handbook Management of Crops Soilsand Ceir Fertility CRC Press LLC Boca Raton FL USA2003
[58] T Tadese ldquoSoil plant water fertilizer animal manure andcompost analysisrdquo International Livestock Research centerfor Africa Addis Ababa Ethiopia Working document No 131991
[59] B Clements and I McGowen Strategic Fertilizer Use onPastures NSW Agriculture Agnote Reg 457 Orange NSWAustralia 1994
[60] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) World Reference Base for Soil Resources AFramework for International Classification Correlation andCommunication World Soil Resources Reports No 103 2ndedition 2006
[61] M N Wael V R Leon C Sarina and B Oswald ldquoEffect ofvermicompost on soil and plant properties of coal spoil in theLusatian region (Eastern Germany)rdquo Karl-Liebknecht Strassevol 24-25 p 14476 2011
[62] K Asciutto M C Rivera E R Wright D Morisigue andM V Lopez ldquoEffect of vermicompost on the growth andhealth of Impatiens walleranardquo International Journal of Ex-perimental Botany vol 75 pp 115ndash123 2006
[63] P O Kisinyo S O Gudu C O Othieno et al ldquoEffects of limephosphorus and Rhizobia on Sesbania sesban performance ina Western Kenyan acid soilrdquo African Journal of AgriculturalResearch vol 7 no 18 pp 2800ndash2809 2012
[64] V R Angelova V I Akova N S Artinova and K I Ivanovldquoe effect of organic amendments on soil chemical char-acteristicsrdquo Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science vol 19no 5 pp 958ndash971 2013
[65] P A Opala J R Okalebo and C O Othieno ldquoEffects oforganic and inorganic materials on soil acidity and phos-phorus availability in a soil incubation studyrdquo InternationalScholarly Research Network Agronomy vol 2012 article597216 10 pages 2012
[66] A A Amba E B Agbo N Voncir andM O Oyawoye ldquoEffectof phosphorus fertilizer on some soil chemical properties andnitrogen fixation of legumes at Bauchirdquo Continental Journal ofAgricultural Science vol 5 no 1 pp 39ndash44 2011
[67] E O Adeleye L S Ayeni and S O Ojeniyi ldquoEffect of poultrymanure on soil physicochemical properties leaf nutrientcontents and yield of Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) on Alfisol inSouthwestern Nigeriardquo Journal of American Science vol 6no 10 pp 871ndash878 2010
[68] A Efthimiadou D Bilalis A Karkanis and B Froud-Wil-liams ldquoCombined organicinorganic fertilization enhance soilquality and increased yield photosynthesis and sustainabilityof sweet maize croprdquo Australian Journal of Crop Sciencevol 4 no 9 pp 722ndash729 2010
[69] D D Mary and S Sivagami ldquoEffect of individual andcombined application of bio-fertilisers vermicompost andinorganic fertilizers on soil enzymes and minerals during thepost harvesting stage of chillirdquo Research Journal of Agricultureand Environmental Management vol 3 pp 434ndash441 2014
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[70] M O Anetor and E A Akinrinde ldquoResponse of soybean[Glycine max (L) Merrill] to lime and phosphorus fertilizertreatments on an acidic Alfisol of Nigeriardquo Pakistan Journal ofNutrition vol 5 no 3 pp 286ndash293 2006
[71] P O Kisinyo ldquoMaize response to organic and inorganic soilamendments grown under tropical acidic soil of KenyardquoJournal of Agricultural Science and Food Technology vol 2no 3 pp 35ndash40 2016
[72] P A Opala J R Okalebo C O Othieno and P KisinyoldquoEffects of organic and inorganic phosphorus sources onmaize yields in acid soils of western Kenyardquo Nutrient Cyclingin Agroecosystems vol 86 pp 317ndash329 2010
[73] A Hassan A Mohamad A Abdu R M Idrus andN A Besar ldquoSoil properties under Orthosiphon stamineus(Benth) intercropped with Durio zibethinus (Murr) andtreated with various organic fertilizersrdquo in Proceedings of the19th World Congress of Soil Science Soil Solutions fora Changing World Brisbane Australia August 2010
[74] R Repsiene and R Skuodiene ldquoe influence of liming andorganic fertilization on the changes of some agrochemicalindicators and their relationship with crop weed incidencerdquoZemdirbyste Agriculture vol 97 no 4 pp 3ndash14 2010
[75] L Andric M Rastija T Teklic and V Kovacevic ldquoResponseof maize and soybeans to limingrdquo Turkish Journal of Agri-culture and Forestry vol 36 pp 415ndash420 2012
[76] L S Ayeni and M T Adetunji ldquoIntegrated application ofpoultry manure and mineral fertilizer on soil chemicalproperties nutrient uptake yields and growth components ofmaizerdquo Nature and Science vol 8 no 1 pp 60ndash67 2010
[77] O N Adeniyan A O Ojo O A Akinbode andJ A Adediran ldquoComparative study of different organicmanures and NPK fertilizer for improvement of soil chemicalproperties and dry matter yield of maize in two differentsoilsrdquo Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Managementvol 2 no 1 pp 9ndash13 2011
[78] D C Edmeades ldquoEffects of lime on effective cation exchangecapacity and exchangeable cations on a range of New Zealandsoilsrdquo New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research vol 25no 1 pp 27ndash33 2012
[79] C Pandey and S Shukla ldquoEffects of composted yard waste onwater movement in sandy soilrdquo Compost Science and Utili-zation vol 14 no 4 pp 252ndash259 2006
[80] R Imerb N Bamroongrugsa K Kawashima T Amano andS Kato ldquoUtilization of coal ash to improve acid soilrdquoSongklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology vol 26no 5 pp 697ndash708 2004
[81] D J Walker R Clemente A Roig and M P Bernal ldquoeeffects of soil amendments on heavy metal bioavailability intwo contaminated Mediterranean soilsrdquo Environmental Pol-lution vol 122 pp 303ndash312 2003
ions in the soil solution Hence this leads to increased soilpH and available P due to reduction in P sorption [1 3]Increasing soil pH liming makes other nutrients moreavailable and prevents Al and Mn from being toxic to plantgrowth [12] Liming also enhances root development andwater and nutrient uptakes necessary for healthy plantgrowth [1 11]
e Ethiopian soils similar to the other agricultural soilsof the tropics are generally low in P [13 14] and hence P isone of the limiting elements in crop production in thehighlands of Ethiopia Use of mineral P fertilizers increasesthe soil available P in P-deficient tropical acid soils [11 15]Melese et al [16] also suggested that application of themineral P fertilizer with other amendments can be used toimprove P deficiency in acid soils Even though the chemicalfertilizers including mineral P are used to increase pro-ductivity for a certain time their negative impacts coupledwith their high cost have prompted the interest in the use oforganic fertilizers as source of nutrients
Organic fertilizer application has been reported to im-prove crop growth by supplying plant nutrients as well asimproving soil physical chemical and biological properties[17] Vermicompost (VC) is one of the stabilized finely di-vided organic fertilizers with a low C N ratio high porosityand high water-holding capacity in which most nutrients arepresent in forms that are readily available for plants [18 19]ere is an increasing interest in the potential use of VC as soilamendment [20ndash22] Application of VC showed markedimprovements in the overall physical and biochemicalproperties and at the same time VC decreases exchangeableacidity which can support a release of plant nutrients in theacidic soils [23] Current trends in agriculture are centered onreducing the use of inorganic fertilizers by biofertilizers suchas VC [24] ere is good evidence that VC applicationpromotes growth of plants and positive effect on growth andproductivity of cereals and legumes [20 25 26] When it iscompared with conventional compost VC promotes growthfrom 50 to 100 over conventional compost and from 30 to40 over chemical fertilizers [27]
e combined application of inorganic and organicfertilizers is widely recognized as a way of improving pro-ductivity of the soil sustainably [28] Several researchers[28ndash31] have demonstrated the beneficial effect of integratednutrient management in mitigating the deficiency of severalmacro- and micronutrients
Many parts of the Ethiopian highlands have a problem ofacidity which causes the gradual reduction of soil fertilityand crop productivity Almost no research has been done onthe effect of VC individually and combined with lime andinorganic fertilizers in ameliorating the acidic soils of thecountry in general and the study area in particular exceptfew studies conducted on amendments of acidic soils by limeand lime with other organic and inorganic fertilizers otherthan VC in different areas [16 32ndash34]
Yet most researches just focus on the effect of differentameliorating material on soil acidity Indeed no work hasbeen done in ameliorating acidic soils and improving nu-trient deficiency by the individual and combined applica-tions of lime VC and mineral P erefore the objective of
this study was to evaluate the effects of lime VC andmineralP fertilizers in ameliorating soil acidity-related problems andother selected chemical properties on acidic soils of EbantuDistrict Western highlands of Ethiopia
2 Materials and Methods
21 Description of the Study Area and Sample Collectione study was conducted in Ebantu District East WollegaZone of Oromia National Regional State (ONRS) (Figure 1)It is located in the western part of Ethiopia at approximately483 km from Addis Ababa and around 153 km fromNekemte the capital city of East Wollega zone e districtlies between 9deg58prime30Prime to 10deg14prime0Prime N latitude and 36deg3prime0Prime to36deg 29prime0Prime E longitude and covers an estimated area of929 km2 with an altitude that ranges from 1994 to 2176meters above sea level (masl)
Geologically the study area is covered by the meta-morphic basement rocks in which tertiary volcanic rocksbuildup and that is characterized by fine granular rock smallcrystal which is invisible by necked eye is rock is char-acterized by large vesicles from where gas escaped out andused for percolation of precipitation [35] e predominantsoil type in southwest and western Ethiopia in general andthe study area in particular is Dystric Nitisols according to[36] the soil classification system Its vernacular name isldquoBiyyee Diimaardquo meaning red soil On the average the soil isdeep and relatively highly weathered well drained and verystrongly to strongly acidic in reaction Nitisols are highlyweathered soils in the warm and humid areas of the west andsouthwest Ethiopia [37]
In terms of topography 30 of the total area is gentleslope while flat and steep slope lands account for 52 and18 respectively Out of the total area of the district 35 iscovered by cultivated land 19 by grazing land 20 bynatural forest land 16 by fallow land and 8 by shrubsand about 2 is estimated to be area covered by settlement(Ebantu District Agricultural development Bureau 2014unpublished) e natural forest in the study area consists ofsome tree species that are remnants of a once dense ever-green forest occurring in various areas of the district edominant tree species in the area include Acacia etbaicaAcacia abyssinica Cordia africana Syzygium guineenseFicus sur Albizia julibrissin Eucalyptus sp Croton mac-rostachyus and Podocarpus falcatus (personal observation)
According to the local and the Ethiopian agroclimaticzonation [38] the study area belongs to the humid (Baddaa)and subhumid (Badda Daree) climatic zones e economicactivities of the local society of the study area are primarilymixed farming system that involves animal husbandry andcrop production Continuous cultivation without any fallowperiods coupled with complete removal of crop residues isa common practice on cultivated fields Farmers in the studyarea use diammonium phosphate (DAP) urea and cowdung as sources of fertilizersemajor crops are maize (Zeamays L) teff (Eragrostis tef) coffee (Coffee arabica L) barley(Hordeum vulgare L) potato (Solanum tuberosum L) andnoug (Guizotia abyssinica) ese major crops are producedusually once per year
2 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
e district receives an annual average rainfall of 1778mmand has monthly mean minimum maximum and meanair temperatures of 166 20 and 183degC respectively [39](Figure 2) e rainfall pattern is unimodal stretching fromApril to October
A bulk soil sample was taken from the surface soil (0ndash20 cm) from the very strongly acidic soil of the WalgayiSoruma sampling site in Ebantu District Western Highlandsof Ethiopia Totally three composite samples were collectedfrom the three blocks Soil samples were collected by augerfrom eighteen subsamples in each block and thoroughlymixed to make a composite e soil was air-dried groundand passed through a 2mm and 05mm sieve and analyzedfor selected soil physicochemical properties At the same
time a total of 3 undisturbed soil samples at 0ndash20 cm depthlayer to determine soil bulk density (BD) of the area werecollected in random by taking one sample per block usingthe core method All the laboratory activities were un-dertaken at Haramaya University and the Nekemte SoilResearch Center
22 Set Up of the Incubation Experiment e incubationexperiment was conducted for two months as describedbelow e composite soil sample with three replicates wasair-dried ground and passed with 2mm sieve and then03 kg soil was placed in plastic pot and mixed with dierenttreatments in a greenhouse During incubation soil
Figure 1 Location map of Ethiopia regions (a) and Oromia National Regional State (ONRS) (b)
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 3
moisture was adjusted to a constant weight 60 (eld ca-pacity) with distilled water at the end of every 3-day period
In this experiment lime (CaCO3) at rates of 2 4 and6 tonsmiddothaminus1 (corresponding with 0231 0462 and 0693 g03 kg soil resp) based on the results from LR tests to reachdesired pH values three VC rates (25 5 and 75 tonsmiddothaminus1)and three mineral P fertilizer rates (20 40 and 60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1)as triple superphosphate (Ca(H2PO4)2) were separatelyapplied uniformly to the whole soil volume e lime rate(4 tonsmiddothaminus1) was combined separately with each of VC andmineral P fertilizer rates as treatments VC rate (5 tonsmiddothaminus1)was combined separately with each of mineral P fertilizerrate and dierent rates of lime and VC and mineral P werecombined and applied to the soil as additional ve treat-ments A control treatment with no soil amendments wasused for the incubation experiment A total of 48 pots wereused for the incubation experimente experiment was laiddown in a completely randomized design (CRD) with tworeplications e units of the treatments were converted intohectare bases by assuming that the plough depth is 20 cmand ρb of the soil is 13 gmiddotcm
minus3 e soils were incubated withthe treatments in the pots for two months (November andDecember 2014) at Haramaya University main campus (rare)
Soil samples were taken at the end of the incubationtime air-dried ground and sieved through 2mm and05mm sieve to observe the eects of lime VC andmineral Pindividually and in combined form on selected soil acidityrelated and other soil chemical properties at HaramayaUniversity central and soil chemistry laboratory
23 SoilAnalyses Soil particle size distribution was analyzedby the Bouyoucus hydrometer method [40] after the soilsamples were dispersed with sodium hexametaphosphate[(NaPO3)6] Soil bulk density (ρb) was measured from threeundisturbed soil samples collected using a core sampler(25 cm radius and 50 cm height) as per the proceduredescribed by Jamison et al [41] while particle density (ρs)wasmeasured using the pycnometer [42] at the Nekemte Soil
Research Center Total porosity (φ) was calculated from thevalues of ρb and ρs as follows
φ 1minusρbρs
( )lowast 100 (1)
Soil pH was measured potentiometrically in 1 25 soil H2O suspension using a combined glass electrode pH meter[43] Total exchangeable acidity was determined by satu-rating the soil samples with 1MmiddotKCl suspension as describedby [44] From the same extract exchangeable Al in the soilsamples was determined by application of 1MmiddotNaF whichforms a complex with Al and releases NaOH Acid satu-ration (AS) was calculated as follows
AS () exchangeable acidity cmolc middotkg
minus1( )ECEC cmolc middotkg
minus1( )times 100 (2)
where AS refers to acid saturation and ECEC refers to ef-fective cation exchange capacity
Organic carbon (OC) content of the soil was determinedby the wet combustion procedure of Walkley and Black [45]Organic matter was determined by multiplying OC by 1724factors e total nitrogen (N) content of the soil was deter-mined by wet-oxidation procedure of the Kjeldahl method[46] Available P was extracted by the Bray-II method [47]using 003MmiddotNH4F and 01MmiddotHCl solution
Exchangeable basic cations (Ca Mg K and Na) weredetermined by saturating several times the soil samples with1MmiddotNH4OAc solution at pH 70 en Ca and Mg weredetermined by using atomic absorption spectrophotometry(AAS) while exchangeable Na and K were measured bybrvbarame photometer from the same extract [48] e eectivecation exchange capacity (ECEC) was calculated as the sumof exchangeable acidity (Al3+ and H+) and exchangeablebasic cations (Ca2+ Mg2+ K+ and Na+) [49]
e extractable micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) wereextracted by diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA)and all these micronutrients were measured by AAS [50]
24 Vermicompost and LimeAnalyses eVC was preparedfrom decomposition of cow dung sheep and goat manurescrop and home residues and weeds and grasses by using redearthworm (Eisenia fetida) Selected parameters of VC weredetermined using dried samples which were ground to passthrough a 2mm sieve as described by Pisa and Wuta [51]Electrical conductivity (EC) and pH were determined froma suspension of 1 10 VC H2O as described by Ndegwa andompson [52] e total OC was estimated by the wetdigestion and rapid titration method [45] e total Ncontent of the VC was determined by wet-oxidation pro-cedure of the Kjeldahl method [46] Total Ca Mg K and Nawere extracted by wet digestion using concentrated sul-phuric acid (H2SO4) selenium (Se) powder lithium sulphate(Li2SO4) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) mixture [53] TotalCa and Mg were determined from the wet digested samplesby AAS while K and Na were estimated by brvbarame pho-tometer Total P was extracted using concentrated H2SO4 Se
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov DecMonth
Mean rainfall (mm)Mean max (degC)Mean min (degC)
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Mea
n ra
infa
ll (m
m)
0
5
10
15
20
25
Tem
pera
ture
(degC)
Figure 2 Mean monthly rainfall (mm) minimum and maximumtemperatures (degC) of the study area recorded for the year from 2006to 2015 Source National Meteorological Agency Gida AyanaMeteorological Station
4 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
powder salicylic acid (C7H6O3) and H2O2 mixture [53]Total micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) were extractedusing concentrated H2SO4 Se powder C7H6O3 and H2O2mixture and their concentrations were determined from thewet digested samples by AAS [53]
e calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE) of the Guderlime was determined by dissolving the lime using excess ofstandard 05MmiddotHCl and followed by gentle boiling Afterfiltration the excess HCl was back titrated with standard01MmiddotNaOH solution From the amount of NaOH used toneutralize the excess acid of the blank and the filtrate theCCE value of the lime was calculated [50]
Lime requirement was determined by the acid saturationmethod to ameliorate the acidic soil of the study site for themaize crop e acid saturation method uses exchangeableacidity ECEC and permissible acid saturation percentage ofcrops to calculate the amount of lime to be applied Using theacid saturation method lime requirement is calculated asfollows [54]
LR kg middothaminus11113872 1113873 LRF [Ex acidity minus(ECEClowastPAS)] (3)
where LR lime requirement LRF lime requirementfactor (kgmiddotlimemiddothaminus1) to lower the Ex acidity by 1 cmol(3000 kg limehacmole) [55] for most Ethiopian soilsEx acidity exchangeable acidity (Al3+ +H+) PAS per-missible acid saturation and ECEC effective cation ex-change capacity (exchangeable acidity + exchangeable bases)
25 Statistical Analysis Analysis of variance was carried outon the effect of treatments on selected soil chemical propertiesusing SAS software [56] Duncanrsquos multiple range test wasemployed to test the significance difference between means oftreatments Simple Pearson correlation analysis was executedto determine the associations between various soil acidityparameters and different soil chemical properties
3 Results and Discussion
31 Initial Soil Properties and Vermicompost Compositione results of laboratory analysis of selected properties of thesoil used for the experiment are presented in Table 1 etextural class of the soil used for the incubation experimentis loam e bulk density of the soil was below the criticalvalue of bulk density (16 gcmminus3) for plant growth at whichroot penetration is likely to be severely restricted in a loamsoil [57] while the particle density is lower than the averageparticle density value for a mineral soil Due to the low bulkdensity value the total porosity of the soil was relativelyhigh e soil was strongly acidic [57] with relatively highcontent of exchangeable acidity and Al e percentage acidsaturation of the soil was 307e organic matter and totalnitrogen contents of the soil were in the range of low andmoderate respectively [58] while the available P contentwas in the low range [59] Similarly the mean soil ex-changeable Ca and K were low whereas exchangeable Mgwas within the range of medium [60] e effective CEC ofthe soils was also relatively low probably due to the dom-inance of low activity clay minerals in the highly weathered
soils of the study area As per rating suggested by Jones [57]the soil was high in DTPA-extractable Fe Mn and Zn andmedium in extractable Cu [57] In general the results of thesoil preanalysis clearly indicate that the soil has soil fertilityproblems that include deficiency of major plant nutrientsand soil acidity that limit successful production of crops inthe study area is calls for development of appropriatemanagement practices that enhance crop production ona sustainable basis
e lime used in this study had CCE value of 887Table 2 shows the nutrient contents of the vermicompostused for the experiment e nutrients are likely to be
Table 1 Selected physical and chemical properties of the exper-imental soil before incubation
Parameters ValueSand () 500Silt () 380Clay () 120Textural class LoamBD (gmiddotcmminus3) 130PD (gmiddotcmminus3) 228TP () 4300pH (H2O) 480Exchangeable acidity (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 244Exchangeable Al (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 203AS () 3070OM () 215Total N () 018Available P by Bray-II (mgmiddotkgminus1) 460Exchangeable Ca (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 351Exchangeable Mg (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 161Exchangeable K (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 027Exchangeable Na (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 011ECEC (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 794Fe (mgmiddotkgminus1) 3510Mn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 3670Zn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 296Cu (mgmiddotkgminus1) 273BD bulk density PD particle density TP total porosity AS acid satu-ration OM organic matter total N total nitrogen ECEC effective cationexchange capacity
Table 2 Chemical characterization of vermicompost
Vermicompost ValuepH (H2O) (1 10) 75EC (dSmminus1) (1 10) 52Total OC () 143Total N () 195Total P (gmiddotkgminus1) 53Ca (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 363Mg (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 198K (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 277Na (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 142Fe (mgmiddotkgminus1) 2190Mn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 3970Zn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 1520Cu (mgmiddotkgminus1) 950EC electrical conductivity total OC total organic carbon total N totalnitrogen total P total phosphorus
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 5
derived from decomposition of the organic matter by theactivities of microorganisms e contents of the VC coulddecrease soil acidity and enhance soil fertility in the stronglyacidic soils of the study area is is manifested by the highpH of the compost In line with the findings of this studyWael et al [61] stated that VC was used to increase the pH inacidic soils and reduce Al and Mn toxicity because of itsalkalinity Arancon et al [18] and Asciutto et al [62] alsoreported that VC contains most nutrients such as ex-changeable Ca phosphates and soluble K in plant availableforms
32 Effects of Treatments on pH Exchangeable Acidity and AlandAcid Saturation e lime at each respective applicationlevel alone or in combination with VC had significant(Ple 0001) effects on soil pH exchangeable acidity and Aland acid saturation (AS) (Table 3) e highest lime rate (6tonsmiddotCaCO3middothaminus1) significantly (Ple 0001) increased the pHfrom 480 to 601 reduced both the exchangeable acidity andAl from 24 to 017 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 and 170 to 033 cmolcmiddotkgminus1respectively and reduced acid saturation from 30 to 162
is might be because lime contains Ca2+ cation to exchangeandor replace H+ ion on the exchange sites and anions suchas CO3
2- to neutralize the H+ ion released from the exchangesites and hydrolyzing Al species to the soil solution Inconsent with the results of this study Kisinyo et al [63] andKisinyo et al [15] reported that application of lime to acidsoils increased Ca2+ andor Mg2+ ions and reduced Al3+ H+Mn2+ and Fe2+ ions in the soil solution
Vermicompost at each respective application levels hadalso significant (Ple 0001) effects on the soil pH ex-changeable acidity and Al and AS (Table 3) e rise in soilpH due to application of VC might be attributed to its highcontent of basic cations and pH which could reduce soilacidity and the contents of exchangeable acidity and Althrough replacing the acidic cations from the exchange sitesis is in agreement with the findings of Angelova et al [64]who pointed out that the direction of the change in soil pH asa result of VC application reflected the initial pH of VC
Generally the combination of all lime-VC treatmentssignificantly (Ple 0001) increased soil pH and decreasedexchangeable acidity and Al relative to the control (Table 3)Combination of the highest level of VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) with
Table 3 Effects of the treatments on pH exchangeable acidity and exchangeable Al and percent acid saturation of soil in the incubationstudy
Treatment Rate pH Ex Ac Ex Al AScmolcmiddotkgminus1
CV () mdash 203 251 255 514lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testEx Ac exchangeable acidity Ex Al exchangeable aluminium AS acid saturation chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient ofvariation
6 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) increased pH from 480 to 605 and decreasedexchangeable acidity and Al from 238 to 017 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 and045 to 009 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 respectively (Table 3) When lime ata rate of 4 tonsmiddothaminus1 was applied to the soil in combination withVC at the rate of 5 and 75 tonsmiddothaminus1 the soil pH increased to theoptimum pH for many crops e correlation analysis alsoindicated that the pH of the soils was correlated with the ex-changeable acidity (r minus087lowastlowast Ple 001) exchangeable Al(r minus087lowastlowast Ple 001) and AS (r minus088lowastlowast Ple 001) (Ta-ble 4) is is in agreement with Opala et al [65] who indicatedthat the combination of organic fertilizers having liming effectand inorganic fertilizers decreased exchangeable acidity which inturn increased soil pH
e chemical P fertilizer had no significant (Ple 0001)effect on soil pH exchangeable acidity and Al and AS whenapplied alone over the control (Table 3) Along with thisKisinyo et al [63] reported that application of the P fertilizeralone to acidic soils did not increase the soil pH neitherreduced soil exchangeable acidity
33 Effects of Treatments on Organic Matter Total Nitrogenand Available Phosphorus Compared to the control all theother treatments showed significant (Ple 0001) increase insoil OM except all levels of chemical P and the combination oflime (4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1) with all levels of the chemical Pfertilizer (Table 5) e highest content of OM (41) wasobtained when the soil was treated by the combination of lime(4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1) with highest level of VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1)(Table 5) Lime and VC application either individually or incombination increased soil pH and OM content which inturn enhances the microbial population An increase in pHmay decrease the stress on soil microbes and microbial ac-tivity and thus increases soil OM is is supported by thecorrelation in which pH was positively and significantly(r 055lowastlowast Ple 001) correlated with OM (Table 4) Inagreement with this Amba et al [66] indicated that soil OCincrement after the application of lime and manure wasassociated with the general improvement of soil conditions
e application of treatments significantly (Ple 0001)increased soil total N except the three rates of the chemical Pfertilizer alone (Table 5)e application of OM in the form ofVC is expected to increase theOM and TN contents of the soil
is is also evidenced by the total by the positive and sig-nificant correlation between total N (r 089lowastlowast Ple 001)and OM (Table 4)is is in agreement with Adeleye et al [67]and Efthimiadou et al [68] who stated that soil total N in-creases when biofertilizers are solely applied due to the ad-dition of OMMary and Sivagami [69] also reported that VC isrich in total Ne highest increment of total N (029mgmiddotkgminus1)was obtained when lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) was applied in com-bination with VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) (Table 5) Similar to theresults of the current study Biruk et al [34] reported increasein total N in acidic soils treated with lime and compost
e available P of the soil varied from 45 to 83mgmiddotkgminus1after incubation (Table 5) e highest available P was ob-tained when chemical P (60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1) lime (2 tonsmiddothaminus1)and VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) were applied in combinationerefore the application of the treatments at these ratessignificantly (Ple 00001) increased available P by 45 overthe control (Table 5) is might be due to the significant(Ple 0001) increase in soil pH due to the effect of lime andVC which in turn reduced P fixation is is also supportedby the results of the simple correlation analysis which in-dicated that the available P of the soil was positively andsignificantly correlated to the pH (r 069lowastlowast Ple 001)(Table 4)is is in harmony with the findings of Anetor andAkinrinde [70] who indicated that increase in soil pH due tolime application reduced P fixation Similarly Kisinyo et al[63] reported that the application of lime and chemical Pfertilizer in sole or combination had significantly positiveeffect on soil pH and available P in acid soils Application ofthe P fertilizer increased available P due to increase of P insoil Similar increase in soil available P in tropical soils hasbeen reported by Kisinyo et al [15] and Opala et al [4]Combined application of chemical P and VC increased soilavailable P more than when either of them were appliedalone is was because the organic material reduced soil Psorption making both the soil native P and the applied Pfertilizer available for plant uptake Similar results werereported by Kisinyo [71] and Opala et al [72]
34 Effects of Treatments on Exchangeable Bases andEffective Cation Exchange Capacity Soil exchangeable Cawas significantly (Ple 0001) increased by the application of
Table 4 Pearson correlation coefficients r among selected soil chemical properties
pH2O Ex Ac Ex Al AS OM TN BP Ca Mg K NaEx Ac minus087lowastlowastEx Al minus087lowastlowast 093lowastlowastAS minus088lowastlowast 092lowastlowast 087lowastlowastOM 055lowastlowast minus026 minus039lowast minus050lowastlowastTN 075lowastlowast minus051lowastlowast minus063lowastlowast minus067lowastlowast 089lowastlowastBP 069lowastlowast minus056lowastlowast minus053lowastlowast minus066lowastlowast 057lowastlowast 065lowastlowastCa 072lowastlowast minus057lowastlowast minus059lowastlowast minus081lowastlowast 085lowastlowast 083lowastlowast 065lowastlowastMg 078lowastlowast 078lowastlowast minus071lowastlowast minus080lowastlowast 081lowastlowast 085lowastlowast 059lowastlowast 091lowastlowastK 084lowastlowast minus076lowastlowast minus081lowastlowast minus088lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 082lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 084lowastlowast 085lowastlowastNa 079lowastlowast minus075lowastlowast minus075lowastlowast minus089lowastlowast 062lowastlowast 074lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 081lowastlowast 076lowastlowast 091lowastlowastFe minus079lowastlowast 086lowastlowast 083lowastlowast 089lowastlowast minus031lowast minus054lowastlowast minus058lowastlowast minus064lowastlowast minus065lowastlowast minus065lowastlowast minus085lowastlowastlowast lowastlowastSignificant at 005 and 001 probability levels respectively Ex Ac exchangeable acidity Ex Al exchangeable aluminium AS acid saturation OM organicmatter TN total nitrogen BP Bray-II P
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 7
all treatments except the application of chemical P alone(Table 6) e highest (77 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) and lowest(35 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) soil exchangeable Ca was obtained when thesoil was treated by VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) plus lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)and chemical P (40kgmiddothaminus1) respectively relative to the control(Table 6) Furthermore lime and VC when applied separatelyincreased soil exchangeable Ca over the control (Table 6) eincrease in exchangeable Ca due to the combined use of limeand VC could be associated with the release of Ca2+ from theapplied lime through its dissolution and vermicompost whichreplaces the acidic cations from the exchange siteerefore themost effective and significant increase was observed when VCwas combined with lime plus the chemical P fertilizeris is inagreement with the previous works of Hassen et al [73] andAdeleye et al [67] who reported increase in exchangeable Cafollowing combined application of lime and organic fertilizers
Soil exchangeable Mg was also significantly (Ple 0001)increased as a result of the treatments applied except thechemical P fertilizer (Table 6) Accordingly the highestexchangeable Mg (344 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) was recorded from in theapplication of lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) with VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1)(Table 6) e increased soil exchangeable Mg as a result oflime and VC application might be attributed to increase in
soil pH which in turn may have increased Mg availability inthe soil When VC was combined with lime and chemical Pfertilizer soil exchangeable Mg was increased and this wasattributed to addition of nutrients to the soil from the VC Inaddition the increase of soil pH by VC reduces Al3+ and H+
content in soil exchange sites and then increased Mgavailability e results are in agreement with those ofRepsiene and Skuodiene [74] and Andric et al [75] whoreported that soil exchangeable bases increased when acidicsoil was amended by lime and manure
e increase in soil exchangeable K and Na due toapplication of VC alone or in combination with the P fer-tilizer plus lime could be due to added K and Na from VCe VC used in the current study had 277 and142 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 of K and Na contents respectively whichmight have added significant amounts of these nutrients tothe soil (Table 2) is is supported by the report of Ayeniand Adetunji [76] Adeleye et al [67] and Adeniyan et al[77] who indicated that soil exchangeable bases increasewhen the biofertilizer was applied alone or in combinationwith the lime and P fertilizer
e effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) of the soilwas significantly (Ple 0001) affected by all treatments except
Table 5 Effects of treatments on organic matter total nitrogen and available phosphorus of the soil after incubation
Treatment Rate OM TN Bray mgmiddotkgminus1 II PControl 0 213l 020ij 45l
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 217jkl 021hi 56k
4 221jk 021hi 63gh
6 228i 023gh 62h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 217jkl 020ij 57jk
40 214l 019j 60i
60 216kl 021hi 62h
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 272h 021hi 58ij
50 320f 023gh 60i
75 399b 027abc 63gh
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 224ij 022hi 65f
CV () mdash 1 364 141lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testOM organic matter TN total nitrogen CN carbon to nitrogen ratio chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
8 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
the chemical P fertilizer when applied at the rate of 40 and60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1 (Table 6) is increase was due to improvedsoil conditions such as soil pH increased soil Ca Mg K andNa by VC and lime and increase of negative charges on thesurfaces of the soil colloids following the rise in pH eECEC increment might also be caused by deprotonation ofpH-dependent charge sites arising from VC is is inagreement with the findings of Edmeades [78] who statedthat ECEC increased with increasing pH of soils e ECECwas significantly increased with the increase of VC due to thegreater contents of exchangeable bases of VC is is sup-ported by Pandey and Shukla [79] who indicated that ap-plication of VC changed ECEC of the soil due to the changeof negative surfaces of the soil colloids
35 Effects of Treatments on Extractable Micronutrients (FeMn Zn and Cu) e extractable micronutrients weresignificantly (Ple 0001) affected by treatments (Table 7)Under almost all the treatments all extractable micro-nutrients decreased relative to the control (Table 7) eextractability of Fe Mn Zn and Cu tends to decrease as soilpH increased e exact mechanisms responsible for
reducing availability differ for each nutrient but can includeformation of low solubility compounds greater retention bysoil colloids when lime and VC are applied
e decrease in extractable Fe may be due to the changein pH caused by the amendments because the bioavailabilityof DTPA-extractable Fe was decreased when pH of the soilincreased In consent with this Imerb et al [80] and Waelet al [61] reported that extractable Fe decreased at pH levelsnear neutral or higher e application of lime and VCdecreased extractable Mn as compared with the control ismight be due to high CEC of organic fertilizer and its abilityto form chelate complexes with this nutrient Along withthis Angelova et al [64] reported that the application ofamendments decreased the extractable Mn concentration inthe soil which might be due to immobilization of Mn by theapplication of VC Extractable Zn was decreased signifi-cantly (Ple 0001) by the application of lime and VC and alsoin combination of all treatments is may be due to theincrement of soil pH and also the formation of insolubleform of Zn compound when it reacts with VC is inagreement with Walker et al [81] who pointed out that Znavailability is controlled by soil pH Angelova et al [64] alsoindicated that Zn can form insoluble compound precipitates
Table 6 Effects of treatments on exchangeable bases and effective cation exchange capacity
Treatment Rate Ex Ca Ex Mg Ex K Ex Na ECECcmolcmiddotkgminus1
CV () mdash 45 118 463 3 246lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testEx Ca exchangeable calcium Ex Mg exchangeable magnesium Ex K exchangeable potassium Ex Na exchangeable sodium ECEC effective cationexchange capacity chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9
during the mineralization of organic ameliorants e ex-tractable Cu was decreased by the application of amend-ments Especially VC supplements lead to lower content ofDTPA-extractable Cu is may be due to the trans-formation of OM in stable form that could link more Cu Inconcord to this Angelova et al [64] reported that enrich-ment of soil with OM could reduce the bioavailable Cu asa result of complexation of free ions of Cu
4 Conclusion
e study revealed that soils of the study area have limi-tations related to deficiency of major plant nutrient elementsand soil acidity As a result most of the soil propertiesmeasured responded positively to applications of lime VCand chemical P fertilizer either in combination or aloneisincubation experiment demonstrated that the application oflime VC and chemical P fertilizer could mitigate soil acidityand Al toxicity as well as improve soil fertility of acidic soilsof the study areae combined application of medium ratesof lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) and chemical P(40 kgmiddothaminus1) holds a lot of promise as an efficient alternativeto amend soil acidity and increase soil nutrient availabilityHowever the results need to be confirmed under field
conditions and the economic feasibility of application ofa particular combination needs to be quantified ereforefurther field work is recommended to verify this result
Conflicts of Interest
e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest
Acknowledgments
is work was supported by the Haramaya University re-search site (rare greenhouse) Haramaya University CentralLaboratory and Ethiopian Ministry of Education e au-thors acknowledge these institutions and staff members ofHaramayaUniversity Central Laboratory particularlyMr BaneKebede and staffmembers of greenhouse and the Nekemte SoilResearch Center for providing them the necessary support toconduct this study
References
[1] P Van Streaten Agro Geology the Use of Rocks for CropsEnviroquest Ltd Cambridge ON Canada 2007
Table 7 e effects of treatments on extractable micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) of the soil of the study area
Treatment Rate Fe Mn Zn Cumgmiddotkgminus1
Control 0 40a 36a 306a 365a
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 241c 31d 296bc 343b
4 166d 25h 241e 315d
6 143e 17k 223f 286h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 397a 36a 309a 366a
40 405a 36a 308a 365a
60 40a 36a 303ab 371a
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 307b 35b 299b 332c
5 298b 33c 290c 316d
75 298b 26g 278d 298ef
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 166d 24h 243e 314d
CV () mdash 314 103 123 092lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testchemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[2] S Kenyanjua M L Ireri S Wambua and S M NandwaldquoAcid soils in Kenya constraints and remedial optionsrdquo 2002KARI Technical Note No 11
[3] P O Kisinyo Constraints of soil acidity and nutrient depe-letion on maize (Zea mays L) production in Kenya PhDthesis Moi University Eldoret Kenya PhD thesis 2011
[4] P A Opala P O Kisinyo and R O Nyambati ldquoEffects ofTithonia diversifolia farmyard manure urea and phosphatefertilizer application methods on maize yields in westernKenyardquo Journal of Agriculture of Rural Develoment of Tropicsand Subtropics vol 116 no 1 pp 1ndash9 2015
[5] H Schlede Distribution of acid soils and liming materials inEthiopia Ethiopian Institute of Geological Surveys Ministryof Mines and Energy Addis Ababa Ethiopia 1989
[6] World Bank Staff Appraisal Report National Fertilizer SectorProject Ethiopia 1995 Report No 13722-ET
[7] W Haile and S Boke Mitigation of Soil Acidity and FertilityDecline Challenges for Sustainable Livelihood ImprovementResearch Findings from Southern Region of Ethiopia and ItsPolicy Implications Awassa Agricultural Research InstituteAwassa Ethiopia 2009
[8] M Abebe Ce Nature and Management of Acid Soils inEthiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2007
[9] V Viterello F Capadi and V Stefanuto ldquoRecent advances inAl and resentance in higher plantsrdquo Brazil Plant Physiologyvol 17 no 1 pp 129ndash143 2005
[10] E Ouma D Ligeyo T Matonyei et al ldquoEnhancing maizegrain yield in acid soils of Western Kenya using Al tolerantgermplasmrdquo Journal of Agricultural Science and Technologyvol 3 pp 33ndash46 2013
[11] C e H Calba C Zonkeng E M Ngonkeu andV O Adetimirin ldquoResponse of maize grain yield to changesin acid soil characterstics after soil amendmentrdquo Plant Soilvol 284 pp 45ndash57 2006
[12] M K Yao P K Angui S Konate et al ldquoEffects of land usetypes on soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics in mid-west Cote drsquoIvoirerdquo European Journal of Science and Researchvol 40 pp 211ndash222 2010
[13] N Z Lupwayi and I Haque ldquoPhosphorous a prerequisite forincreased productivity of forage and browsefree legumes inthe Ethiopian highlandsrdquo in Proceedings of the Second Con-ference of the Ethiopian Society of Soil Science Addis AbabaEthiopia September 1993
[14] S Boke ldquoSoil phosphorous fractions influenced by differentcropping system in Andosols and Nitisols in Kambata-Tenbaro and Wolaita Zones SNNPRS Ethiopiardquo AlemayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia MSc thesis 2004
[15] P O Kisinyo C O Othieno S O Gudu et al ldquoImmediateand residual effects of lime and phosphorus fertilizer on soilacidity and maize production in western Kenyardquo Experi-mental agriculture vol 50 no 1 pp 128ndash143 2014
[16] A Melese Y Markku and B Yitaferu ldquoEffects of lime woodash manure and mineral P fertilizer rates on acidity relatedchemical properties and growth and P uptake of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) on acid soil of Farta district North-western Highlands of Ethiopiardquo International Journal ofAgriculture and Crop Sciences vol 8 no 2 pp 256ndash269 2015
[17] D Mengesha and L Mekonnen ldquoIntegrated agronomic cropmanagements to improve teff productivity under terminaldroughtrdquo in Water Stress I Md M Rahman andH Hasegawa Eds pp 235ndash254 Intech Open ScienceLondon UK 2012
[18] N Q Arancon C A Edwards R Atiyeh and J D MetzgerldquoEffects of vermicompost produced from food waste on the
growth and yields of greenhouse peppersrdquo Bio-ResourcesTechnology vol 93 no 2 pp 139ndash144 2004
[19] J Dominguez ldquoState of the art and new perspectives onvermicomposting researchrdquo in Earthworm EcologyC A Edwardspp 401ndash424 CRC Press Boca Raton FL USA2nd edition 2004
[20] R M Azarmi T Giglou and R D Taleshmikail ldquoInfluence ofvermicompost on soil chemical and physical properties intomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) fieldrdquo African Journal ofBio-technology vol 7 pp 2397ndash2401 2008
[21] L Angin E L Aksakal T Oztas and A Hanay ldquoEffects ofmunicipal solid waste compost (MSWC) application oncertain physical properties of soils subjected to freeze-thawrdquoSoil Tillage Research vol 130 pp 58ndash61 2013
[22] J Lordan M Pascual and F Fonseca ldquoUse of rice husk toenhance peach tree performance in soil switch limitingphysical propertiesrdquo Soil Tillage and Research vol 129pp 19ndash22 2013
[23] R Abafita ldquoEvaluation of vermicompost on maize pro-ductivity and determine optimum rate for maize productionrdquoWorld Journal of Biology and Medical Sciences vol 3 no 1pp 9ndash22 2016
[24] M R Haj Seyed Hadi M T Darzi Z Ghandehari andG H Riazi ldquoEffects of vermicompost and amino acids on theflower yield and essential oil production from Matricariachamomilla L J of Medrdquo Plants Research vol 5 no 23pp 5611ndash5617 2011
[25] S Suthar ldquoEffect of vermicompost and inorganic fertilizer onwheat (Triticum aestivum) productionrdquo Nature Environ-mental Pollution Technology vol 5 pp 197ndash201 2006
[26] S I Glenda B Ismet K Skender and B Astrit ldquoe influenceof vermicompost on plant growth characteristics of cucumber(Cucumis sativus L) seedlings under saline conditionsrdquoJournal of Food Agriculture and Environmental vol 7pp 869ndash872 2009
[27] R K Sinha S Agarwal K Chaudhan and D Valani ldquoewonders of earthworms and its vermicomposting in farmproduction Charles Darwinrsquos friends of farmersrsquo with po-tential to replace destructive chemical fertilizers from agri-culturerdquo Agricultural Science vol 1 no 2 pp 76ndash94 2010
[28] A Mahajan R M Bhagat and R D Gupta ldquoIntegratednutrient management in sustainable rice-wheat croppingsystem for food security in Indiardquo SAARC Journal of Agri-culture vol 6 no 2 pp 29ndash32 2008
[29] R Singh and S K Agarwal ldquoGrowth and yield of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) as influenced by levels of farmyardmanure and nitrogenrdquo Indian Journal of Agronomy vol 46no 3 pp 462ndash467 2001
[30] G Angachew ldquoAmeliorating effects of organic and inorganicfertilizers on crop productivity and soil properties on reddish-brown soilsrdquo in Proceedings of the 10th Conference of theEthiopian Society of Soil Science pp 127ndash150 Addis AbabaEthiopia March 2009
[31] A F Gafar M Yassin D Ibrahim and S O Yagoob ldquoEffectof different (bio organic and inorganic) fertilizers on someyield components of rice (Oryza sativa L)rdquo Universal Journalof Agricultural Research vol 2 no 2 pp 67ndash70 2014
[32] A Chimdi H Gebrekidan K Kibret and A Tadesse ldquoEffectsof liming on acidity-related chemical properties of soils ofdifferent land use systems in Western Oromia EthiopiardquoWorld Journal of Agricultural Science vol 8 no 6 pp 560ndash567 2012
[33] A Kidanemariam ldquoSoil acidity characterization and effects ofliming and chemical fertilization on dry matter yield and
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
nutrient uptake of wheat (Triticum aestivum L) on soils ofTsegede District Northern Ethiopiardquo PhD thesis HaramayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia PhD thesis 2013
[34] B Teshome ldquoEffect of compost lime and P on selectedproperties of acidic soils of Asosardquo Journal of Biology Ag-riculture and Healthcare vol 7 no 5 pp 2224ndash3208 2017
[35] A Abraham Studied Rock Units of Western Ethiopia AddisAbaba EthiopiaGeological Survey Bulletin Note No 305 1990
[36] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) Edited by P Driessen J Deckers andF Nachtergaele Eds Food and Agricultural OrganizationsRome Italy 2001
[37] M AbebeNatures andManagement of Ethiopian Soils AlemayaUniversity of Agriculture Haramaya Ethiopia 1998
[38] FAO (Food andAgricultureOrganization of theUnitedNations)Soil Map of the World Revised Legend World Soil ResourceReport 60 FAO Rome Italy 1990
[39] NMA (National Meteorological Agency) Gida AyanaWeather Station Rainfall and Temperature Data NMA AsosaEthiopia 2015
[40] G H Bouyoucos ldquoA recalibration of the hydrometer formaking mechanical analysis of soilsrdquo Agricultural Journalsvol 43 pp 434ndash438 1951
[41] V C Jamison H H Weaver and I F Reed ldquoA hammer-driven soil core samplerrdquo Soil Science vol 69 pp 487ndash4961950
[42] T C Barauah and H P Barthakulh A Text Book of SoilAnalysis Vikas Publishing House New Delhi India 1997
[43] S H Chopra and J S Kanwar Analytical AgriculturalChemistry Kalyani Publisher Bengaluru India 1976
[44] D L Rowell Method and Applications Addison WesleyLongman Limited London UK 1994
[45] A Walkley and I A Black ldquoAn examination of the Degtjareffmethod for determining soil organic matter and proposedmodification of the titration methodrdquo Soil Science vol 37pp 29ndash38 1934
[46] J M Bremner and C S Mulvaney ldquoNitrogen-totalrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Part 2 Chemical and MicrobiologicalProperties A L Page R HMiller andD R Keeneypp 595ndash624American Society of AgronomyMadisonWI USA 2nd edition1982
[47] H R Bray and L T Kurtz ldquoDetermination of organic andavailable forms of phosphorus in soilsrdquo Soil Science vol 59no 1 pp 39ndash46 1945
[48] H D Chapman ldquoCation exchange capacity by ammoniumsaturationrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Agronomy Part II No9 CA Black Ed pp 891ndash901 American Society ofAgronomy Madison WI USA 1965
[49] M Pansu and J Gautheyrou Handbook of Soil AnalysisSpringer New York NY USA 2006
[50] S Sertsu and T Bekele ldquoProcedures for soil and plantanalysisrdquo National Soil Research Center Ethiopian Agricul-tural Research Organization (EARO) Addis Ababa EthiopiaTechnical paper 74 2000
[51] C Pisa andMWuta ldquoEvaluation of composting performanceof mixtures of chicken blood and maize stover in HarareZimbabwerdquo International Journal of Recycling of OrganicWaste in Agriculture vol 2 no 1 pp 1ndash11 2013
[52] P M Ndegwa and S A ompson ldquoIntegrating compostingand vermicomposting in the treatment and bioconversion ofsolidsrdquo Bioresource Technology vol 76 pp 107ndash112 2001
[53] J R Okalebo K W Guthua and P J Woomer LaboratoryMethods of Soil and Plant Analysis a Working Manual TSBF-CIAT and SACRED Africa Nairobi Kenya 2002
[54] A D Manson and V Katusic Potato Fertilization in Kwa-zulu-Natal Cedara Report NoNA9724 Cedara Reportsand Publications 1997
[55] M P W Farina and P Chanon ldquoA field comparison of limerequirement indices for maizerdquo Plant and Soil vol 134pp 127ndash135 1991
[56] SAS (Statistical Analysis System) SASSTAT Userrsquos GuideProprietary Software Version 92 SAS Inst Inc Cary NCUSA 2004
[57] J B JonesAgronomic Handbook Management of Crops Soilsand Ceir Fertility CRC Press LLC Boca Raton FL USA2003
[58] T Tadese ldquoSoil plant water fertilizer animal manure andcompost analysisrdquo International Livestock Research centerfor Africa Addis Ababa Ethiopia Working document No 131991
[59] B Clements and I McGowen Strategic Fertilizer Use onPastures NSW Agriculture Agnote Reg 457 Orange NSWAustralia 1994
[60] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) World Reference Base for Soil Resources AFramework for International Classification Correlation andCommunication World Soil Resources Reports No 103 2ndedition 2006
[61] M N Wael V R Leon C Sarina and B Oswald ldquoEffect ofvermicompost on soil and plant properties of coal spoil in theLusatian region (Eastern Germany)rdquo Karl-Liebknecht Strassevol 24-25 p 14476 2011
[62] K Asciutto M C Rivera E R Wright D Morisigue andM V Lopez ldquoEffect of vermicompost on the growth andhealth of Impatiens walleranardquo International Journal of Ex-perimental Botany vol 75 pp 115ndash123 2006
[63] P O Kisinyo S O Gudu C O Othieno et al ldquoEffects of limephosphorus and Rhizobia on Sesbania sesban performance ina Western Kenyan acid soilrdquo African Journal of AgriculturalResearch vol 7 no 18 pp 2800ndash2809 2012
[64] V R Angelova V I Akova N S Artinova and K I Ivanovldquoe effect of organic amendments on soil chemical char-acteristicsrdquo Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science vol 19no 5 pp 958ndash971 2013
[65] P A Opala J R Okalebo and C O Othieno ldquoEffects oforganic and inorganic materials on soil acidity and phos-phorus availability in a soil incubation studyrdquo InternationalScholarly Research Network Agronomy vol 2012 article597216 10 pages 2012
[66] A A Amba E B Agbo N Voncir andM O Oyawoye ldquoEffectof phosphorus fertilizer on some soil chemical properties andnitrogen fixation of legumes at Bauchirdquo Continental Journal ofAgricultural Science vol 5 no 1 pp 39ndash44 2011
[67] E O Adeleye L S Ayeni and S O Ojeniyi ldquoEffect of poultrymanure on soil physicochemical properties leaf nutrientcontents and yield of Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) on Alfisol inSouthwestern Nigeriardquo Journal of American Science vol 6no 10 pp 871ndash878 2010
[68] A Efthimiadou D Bilalis A Karkanis and B Froud-Wil-liams ldquoCombined organicinorganic fertilization enhance soilquality and increased yield photosynthesis and sustainabilityof sweet maize croprdquo Australian Journal of Crop Sciencevol 4 no 9 pp 722ndash729 2010
[69] D D Mary and S Sivagami ldquoEffect of individual andcombined application of bio-fertilisers vermicompost andinorganic fertilizers on soil enzymes and minerals during thepost harvesting stage of chillirdquo Research Journal of Agricultureand Environmental Management vol 3 pp 434ndash441 2014
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[70] M O Anetor and E A Akinrinde ldquoResponse of soybean[Glycine max (L) Merrill] to lime and phosphorus fertilizertreatments on an acidic Alfisol of Nigeriardquo Pakistan Journal ofNutrition vol 5 no 3 pp 286ndash293 2006
[71] P O Kisinyo ldquoMaize response to organic and inorganic soilamendments grown under tropical acidic soil of KenyardquoJournal of Agricultural Science and Food Technology vol 2no 3 pp 35ndash40 2016
[72] P A Opala J R Okalebo C O Othieno and P KisinyoldquoEffects of organic and inorganic phosphorus sources onmaize yields in acid soils of western Kenyardquo Nutrient Cyclingin Agroecosystems vol 86 pp 317ndash329 2010
[73] A Hassan A Mohamad A Abdu R M Idrus andN A Besar ldquoSoil properties under Orthosiphon stamineus(Benth) intercropped with Durio zibethinus (Murr) andtreated with various organic fertilizersrdquo in Proceedings of the19th World Congress of Soil Science Soil Solutions fora Changing World Brisbane Australia August 2010
[74] R Repsiene and R Skuodiene ldquoe influence of liming andorganic fertilization on the changes of some agrochemicalindicators and their relationship with crop weed incidencerdquoZemdirbyste Agriculture vol 97 no 4 pp 3ndash14 2010
[75] L Andric M Rastija T Teklic and V Kovacevic ldquoResponseof maize and soybeans to limingrdquo Turkish Journal of Agri-culture and Forestry vol 36 pp 415ndash420 2012
[76] L S Ayeni and M T Adetunji ldquoIntegrated application ofpoultry manure and mineral fertilizer on soil chemicalproperties nutrient uptake yields and growth components ofmaizerdquo Nature and Science vol 8 no 1 pp 60ndash67 2010
[77] O N Adeniyan A O Ojo O A Akinbode andJ A Adediran ldquoComparative study of different organicmanures and NPK fertilizer for improvement of soil chemicalproperties and dry matter yield of maize in two differentsoilsrdquo Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Managementvol 2 no 1 pp 9ndash13 2011
[78] D C Edmeades ldquoEffects of lime on effective cation exchangecapacity and exchangeable cations on a range of New Zealandsoilsrdquo New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research vol 25no 1 pp 27ndash33 2012
[79] C Pandey and S Shukla ldquoEffects of composted yard waste onwater movement in sandy soilrdquo Compost Science and Utili-zation vol 14 no 4 pp 252ndash259 2006
[80] R Imerb N Bamroongrugsa K Kawashima T Amano andS Kato ldquoUtilization of coal ash to improve acid soilrdquoSongklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology vol 26no 5 pp 697ndash708 2004
[81] D J Walker R Clemente A Roig and M P Bernal ldquoeeffects of soil amendments on heavy metal bioavailability intwo contaminated Mediterranean soilsrdquo Environmental Pol-lution vol 122 pp 303ndash312 2003
e district receives an annual average rainfall of 1778mmand has monthly mean minimum maximum and meanair temperatures of 166 20 and 183degC respectively [39](Figure 2) e rainfall pattern is unimodal stretching fromApril to October
A bulk soil sample was taken from the surface soil (0ndash20 cm) from the very strongly acidic soil of the WalgayiSoruma sampling site in Ebantu District Western Highlandsof Ethiopia Totally three composite samples were collectedfrom the three blocks Soil samples were collected by augerfrom eighteen subsamples in each block and thoroughlymixed to make a composite e soil was air-dried groundand passed through a 2mm and 05mm sieve and analyzedfor selected soil physicochemical properties At the same
time a total of 3 undisturbed soil samples at 0ndash20 cm depthlayer to determine soil bulk density (BD) of the area werecollected in random by taking one sample per block usingthe core method All the laboratory activities were un-dertaken at Haramaya University and the Nekemte SoilResearch Center
22 Set Up of the Incubation Experiment e incubationexperiment was conducted for two months as describedbelow e composite soil sample with three replicates wasair-dried ground and passed with 2mm sieve and then03 kg soil was placed in plastic pot and mixed with dierenttreatments in a greenhouse During incubation soil
Figure 1 Location map of Ethiopia regions (a) and Oromia National Regional State (ONRS) (b)
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 3
moisture was adjusted to a constant weight 60 (eld ca-pacity) with distilled water at the end of every 3-day period
In this experiment lime (CaCO3) at rates of 2 4 and6 tonsmiddothaminus1 (corresponding with 0231 0462 and 0693 g03 kg soil resp) based on the results from LR tests to reachdesired pH values three VC rates (25 5 and 75 tonsmiddothaminus1)and three mineral P fertilizer rates (20 40 and 60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1)as triple superphosphate (Ca(H2PO4)2) were separatelyapplied uniformly to the whole soil volume e lime rate(4 tonsmiddothaminus1) was combined separately with each of VC andmineral P fertilizer rates as treatments VC rate (5 tonsmiddothaminus1)was combined separately with each of mineral P fertilizerrate and dierent rates of lime and VC and mineral P werecombined and applied to the soil as additional ve treat-ments A control treatment with no soil amendments wasused for the incubation experiment A total of 48 pots wereused for the incubation experimente experiment was laiddown in a completely randomized design (CRD) with tworeplications e units of the treatments were converted intohectare bases by assuming that the plough depth is 20 cmand ρb of the soil is 13 gmiddotcm
minus3 e soils were incubated withthe treatments in the pots for two months (November andDecember 2014) at Haramaya University main campus (rare)
Soil samples were taken at the end of the incubationtime air-dried ground and sieved through 2mm and05mm sieve to observe the eects of lime VC andmineral Pindividually and in combined form on selected soil acidityrelated and other soil chemical properties at HaramayaUniversity central and soil chemistry laboratory
23 SoilAnalyses Soil particle size distribution was analyzedby the Bouyoucus hydrometer method [40] after the soilsamples were dispersed with sodium hexametaphosphate[(NaPO3)6] Soil bulk density (ρb) was measured from threeundisturbed soil samples collected using a core sampler(25 cm radius and 50 cm height) as per the proceduredescribed by Jamison et al [41] while particle density (ρs)wasmeasured using the pycnometer [42] at the Nekemte Soil
Research Center Total porosity (φ) was calculated from thevalues of ρb and ρs as follows
φ 1minusρbρs
( )lowast 100 (1)
Soil pH was measured potentiometrically in 1 25 soil H2O suspension using a combined glass electrode pH meter[43] Total exchangeable acidity was determined by satu-rating the soil samples with 1MmiddotKCl suspension as describedby [44] From the same extract exchangeable Al in the soilsamples was determined by application of 1MmiddotNaF whichforms a complex with Al and releases NaOH Acid satu-ration (AS) was calculated as follows
AS () exchangeable acidity cmolc middotkg
minus1( )ECEC cmolc middotkg
minus1( )times 100 (2)
where AS refers to acid saturation and ECEC refers to ef-fective cation exchange capacity
Organic carbon (OC) content of the soil was determinedby the wet combustion procedure of Walkley and Black [45]Organic matter was determined by multiplying OC by 1724factors e total nitrogen (N) content of the soil was deter-mined by wet-oxidation procedure of the Kjeldahl method[46] Available P was extracted by the Bray-II method [47]using 003MmiddotNH4F and 01MmiddotHCl solution
Exchangeable basic cations (Ca Mg K and Na) weredetermined by saturating several times the soil samples with1MmiddotNH4OAc solution at pH 70 en Ca and Mg weredetermined by using atomic absorption spectrophotometry(AAS) while exchangeable Na and K were measured bybrvbarame photometer from the same extract [48] e eectivecation exchange capacity (ECEC) was calculated as the sumof exchangeable acidity (Al3+ and H+) and exchangeablebasic cations (Ca2+ Mg2+ K+ and Na+) [49]
e extractable micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) wereextracted by diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA)and all these micronutrients were measured by AAS [50]
24 Vermicompost and LimeAnalyses eVC was preparedfrom decomposition of cow dung sheep and goat manurescrop and home residues and weeds and grasses by using redearthworm (Eisenia fetida) Selected parameters of VC weredetermined using dried samples which were ground to passthrough a 2mm sieve as described by Pisa and Wuta [51]Electrical conductivity (EC) and pH were determined froma suspension of 1 10 VC H2O as described by Ndegwa andompson [52] e total OC was estimated by the wetdigestion and rapid titration method [45] e total Ncontent of the VC was determined by wet-oxidation pro-cedure of the Kjeldahl method [46] Total Ca Mg K and Nawere extracted by wet digestion using concentrated sul-phuric acid (H2SO4) selenium (Se) powder lithium sulphate(Li2SO4) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) mixture [53] TotalCa and Mg were determined from the wet digested samplesby AAS while K and Na were estimated by brvbarame pho-tometer Total P was extracted using concentrated H2SO4 Se
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov DecMonth
Mean rainfall (mm)Mean max (degC)Mean min (degC)
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Mea
n ra
infa
ll (m
m)
0
5
10
15
20
25
Tem
pera
ture
(degC)
Figure 2 Mean monthly rainfall (mm) minimum and maximumtemperatures (degC) of the study area recorded for the year from 2006to 2015 Source National Meteorological Agency Gida AyanaMeteorological Station
4 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
powder salicylic acid (C7H6O3) and H2O2 mixture [53]Total micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) were extractedusing concentrated H2SO4 Se powder C7H6O3 and H2O2mixture and their concentrations were determined from thewet digested samples by AAS [53]
e calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE) of the Guderlime was determined by dissolving the lime using excess ofstandard 05MmiddotHCl and followed by gentle boiling Afterfiltration the excess HCl was back titrated with standard01MmiddotNaOH solution From the amount of NaOH used toneutralize the excess acid of the blank and the filtrate theCCE value of the lime was calculated [50]
Lime requirement was determined by the acid saturationmethod to ameliorate the acidic soil of the study site for themaize crop e acid saturation method uses exchangeableacidity ECEC and permissible acid saturation percentage ofcrops to calculate the amount of lime to be applied Using theacid saturation method lime requirement is calculated asfollows [54]
LR kg middothaminus11113872 1113873 LRF [Ex acidity minus(ECEClowastPAS)] (3)
where LR lime requirement LRF lime requirementfactor (kgmiddotlimemiddothaminus1) to lower the Ex acidity by 1 cmol(3000 kg limehacmole) [55] for most Ethiopian soilsEx acidity exchangeable acidity (Al3+ +H+) PAS per-missible acid saturation and ECEC effective cation ex-change capacity (exchangeable acidity + exchangeable bases)
25 Statistical Analysis Analysis of variance was carried outon the effect of treatments on selected soil chemical propertiesusing SAS software [56] Duncanrsquos multiple range test wasemployed to test the significance difference between means oftreatments Simple Pearson correlation analysis was executedto determine the associations between various soil acidityparameters and different soil chemical properties
3 Results and Discussion
31 Initial Soil Properties and Vermicompost Compositione results of laboratory analysis of selected properties of thesoil used for the experiment are presented in Table 1 etextural class of the soil used for the incubation experimentis loam e bulk density of the soil was below the criticalvalue of bulk density (16 gcmminus3) for plant growth at whichroot penetration is likely to be severely restricted in a loamsoil [57] while the particle density is lower than the averageparticle density value for a mineral soil Due to the low bulkdensity value the total porosity of the soil was relativelyhigh e soil was strongly acidic [57] with relatively highcontent of exchangeable acidity and Al e percentage acidsaturation of the soil was 307e organic matter and totalnitrogen contents of the soil were in the range of low andmoderate respectively [58] while the available P contentwas in the low range [59] Similarly the mean soil ex-changeable Ca and K were low whereas exchangeable Mgwas within the range of medium [60] e effective CEC ofthe soils was also relatively low probably due to the dom-inance of low activity clay minerals in the highly weathered
soils of the study area As per rating suggested by Jones [57]the soil was high in DTPA-extractable Fe Mn and Zn andmedium in extractable Cu [57] In general the results of thesoil preanalysis clearly indicate that the soil has soil fertilityproblems that include deficiency of major plant nutrientsand soil acidity that limit successful production of crops inthe study area is calls for development of appropriatemanagement practices that enhance crop production ona sustainable basis
e lime used in this study had CCE value of 887Table 2 shows the nutrient contents of the vermicompostused for the experiment e nutrients are likely to be
Table 1 Selected physical and chemical properties of the exper-imental soil before incubation
Parameters ValueSand () 500Silt () 380Clay () 120Textural class LoamBD (gmiddotcmminus3) 130PD (gmiddotcmminus3) 228TP () 4300pH (H2O) 480Exchangeable acidity (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 244Exchangeable Al (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 203AS () 3070OM () 215Total N () 018Available P by Bray-II (mgmiddotkgminus1) 460Exchangeable Ca (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 351Exchangeable Mg (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 161Exchangeable K (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 027Exchangeable Na (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 011ECEC (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 794Fe (mgmiddotkgminus1) 3510Mn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 3670Zn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 296Cu (mgmiddotkgminus1) 273BD bulk density PD particle density TP total porosity AS acid satu-ration OM organic matter total N total nitrogen ECEC effective cationexchange capacity
Table 2 Chemical characterization of vermicompost
Vermicompost ValuepH (H2O) (1 10) 75EC (dSmminus1) (1 10) 52Total OC () 143Total N () 195Total P (gmiddotkgminus1) 53Ca (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 363Mg (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 198K (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 277Na (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 142Fe (mgmiddotkgminus1) 2190Mn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 3970Zn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 1520Cu (mgmiddotkgminus1) 950EC electrical conductivity total OC total organic carbon total N totalnitrogen total P total phosphorus
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 5
derived from decomposition of the organic matter by theactivities of microorganisms e contents of the VC coulddecrease soil acidity and enhance soil fertility in the stronglyacidic soils of the study area is is manifested by the highpH of the compost In line with the findings of this studyWael et al [61] stated that VC was used to increase the pH inacidic soils and reduce Al and Mn toxicity because of itsalkalinity Arancon et al [18] and Asciutto et al [62] alsoreported that VC contains most nutrients such as ex-changeable Ca phosphates and soluble K in plant availableforms
32 Effects of Treatments on pH Exchangeable Acidity and AlandAcid Saturation e lime at each respective applicationlevel alone or in combination with VC had significant(Ple 0001) effects on soil pH exchangeable acidity and Aland acid saturation (AS) (Table 3) e highest lime rate (6tonsmiddotCaCO3middothaminus1) significantly (Ple 0001) increased the pHfrom 480 to 601 reduced both the exchangeable acidity andAl from 24 to 017 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 and 170 to 033 cmolcmiddotkgminus1respectively and reduced acid saturation from 30 to 162
is might be because lime contains Ca2+ cation to exchangeandor replace H+ ion on the exchange sites and anions suchas CO3
2- to neutralize the H+ ion released from the exchangesites and hydrolyzing Al species to the soil solution Inconsent with the results of this study Kisinyo et al [63] andKisinyo et al [15] reported that application of lime to acidsoils increased Ca2+ andor Mg2+ ions and reduced Al3+ H+Mn2+ and Fe2+ ions in the soil solution
Vermicompost at each respective application levels hadalso significant (Ple 0001) effects on the soil pH ex-changeable acidity and Al and AS (Table 3) e rise in soilpH due to application of VC might be attributed to its highcontent of basic cations and pH which could reduce soilacidity and the contents of exchangeable acidity and Althrough replacing the acidic cations from the exchange sitesis is in agreement with the findings of Angelova et al [64]who pointed out that the direction of the change in soil pH asa result of VC application reflected the initial pH of VC
Generally the combination of all lime-VC treatmentssignificantly (Ple 0001) increased soil pH and decreasedexchangeable acidity and Al relative to the control (Table 3)Combination of the highest level of VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) with
Table 3 Effects of the treatments on pH exchangeable acidity and exchangeable Al and percent acid saturation of soil in the incubationstudy
Treatment Rate pH Ex Ac Ex Al AScmolcmiddotkgminus1
CV () mdash 203 251 255 514lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testEx Ac exchangeable acidity Ex Al exchangeable aluminium AS acid saturation chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient ofvariation
6 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) increased pH from 480 to 605 and decreasedexchangeable acidity and Al from 238 to 017 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 and045 to 009 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 respectively (Table 3) When lime ata rate of 4 tonsmiddothaminus1 was applied to the soil in combination withVC at the rate of 5 and 75 tonsmiddothaminus1 the soil pH increased to theoptimum pH for many crops e correlation analysis alsoindicated that the pH of the soils was correlated with the ex-changeable acidity (r minus087lowastlowast Ple 001) exchangeable Al(r minus087lowastlowast Ple 001) and AS (r minus088lowastlowast Ple 001) (Ta-ble 4) is is in agreement with Opala et al [65] who indicatedthat the combination of organic fertilizers having liming effectand inorganic fertilizers decreased exchangeable acidity which inturn increased soil pH
e chemical P fertilizer had no significant (Ple 0001)effect on soil pH exchangeable acidity and Al and AS whenapplied alone over the control (Table 3) Along with thisKisinyo et al [63] reported that application of the P fertilizeralone to acidic soils did not increase the soil pH neitherreduced soil exchangeable acidity
33 Effects of Treatments on Organic Matter Total Nitrogenand Available Phosphorus Compared to the control all theother treatments showed significant (Ple 0001) increase insoil OM except all levels of chemical P and the combination oflime (4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1) with all levels of the chemical Pfertilizer (Table 5) e highest content of OM (41) wasobtained when the soil was treated by the combination of lime(4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1) with highest level of VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1)(Table 5) Lime and VC application either individually or incombination increased soil pH and OM content which inturn enhances the microbial population An increase in pHmay decrease the stress on soil microbes and microbial ac-tivity and thus increases soil OM is is supported by thecorrelation in which pH was positively and significantly(r 055lowastlowast Ple 001) correlated with OM (Table 4) Inagreement with this Amba et al [66] indicated that soil OCincrement after the application of lime and manure wasassociated with the general improvement of soil conditions
e application of treatments significantly (Ple 0001)increased soil total N except the three rates of the chemical Pfertilizer alone (Table 5)e application of OM in the form ofVC is expected to increase theOM and TN contents of the soil
is is also evidenced by the total by the positive and sig-nificant correlation between total N (r 089lowastlowast Ple 001)and OM (Table 4)is is in agreement with Adeleye et al [67]and Efthimiadou et al [68] who stated that soil total N in-creases when biofertilizers are solely applied due to the ad-dition of OMMary and Sivagami [69] also reported that VC isrich in total Ne highest increment of total N (029mgmiddotkgminus1)was obtained when lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) was applied in com-bination with VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) (Table 5) Similar to theresults of the current study Biruk et al [34] reported increasein total N in acidic soils treated with lime and compost
e available P of the soil varied from 45 to 83mgmiddotkgminus1after incubation (Table 5) e highest available P was ob-tained when chemical P (60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1) lime (2 tonsmiddothaminus1)and VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) were applied in combinationerefore the application of the treatments at these ratessignificantly (Ple 00001) increased available P by 45 overthe control (Table 5) is might be due to the significant(Ple 0001) increase in soil pH due to the effect of lime andVC which in turn reduced P fixation is is also supportedby the results of the simple correlation analysis which in-dicated that the available P of the soil was positively andsignificantly correlated to the pH (r 069lowastlowast Ple 001)(Table 4)is is in harmony with the findings of Anetor andAkinrinde [70] who indicated that increase in soil pH due tolime application reduced P fixation Similarly Kisinyo et al[63] reported that the application of lime and chemical Pfertilizer in sole or combination had significantly positiveeffect on soil pH and available P in acid soils Application ofthe P fertilizer increased available P due to increase of P insoil Similar increase in soil available P in tropical soils hasbeen reported by Kisinyo et al [15] and Opala et al [4]Combined application of chemical P and VC increased soilavailable P more than when either of them were appliedalone is was because the organic material reduced soil Psorption making both the soil native P and the applied Pfertilizer available for plant uptake Similar results werereported by Kisinyo [71] and Opala et al [72]
34 Effects of Treatments on Exchangeable Bases andEffective Cation Exchange Capacity Soil exchangeable Cawas significantly (Ple 0001) increased by the application of
Table 4 Pearson correlation coefficients r among selected soil chemical properties
pH2O Ex Ac Ex Al AS OM TN BP Ca Mg K NaEx Ac minus087lowastlowastEx Al minus087lowastlowast 093lowastlowastAS minus088lowastlowast 092lowastlowast 087lowastlowastOM 055lowastlowast minus026 minus039lowast minus050lowastlowastTN 075lowastlowast minus051lowastlowast minus063lowastlowast minus067lowastlowast 089lowastlowastBP 069lowastlowast minus056lowastlowast minus053lowastlowast minus066lowastlowast 057lowastlowast 065lowastlowastCa 072lowastlowast minus057lowastlowast minus059lowastlowast minus081lowastlowast 085lowastlowast 083lowastlowast 065lowastlowastMg 078lowastlowast 078lowastlowast minus071lowastlowast minus080lowastlowast 081lowastlowast 085lowastlowast 059lowastlowast 091lowastlowastK 084lowastlowast minus076lowastlowast minus081lowastlowast minus088lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 082lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 084lowastlowast 085lowastlowastNa 079lowastlowast minus075lowastlowast minus075lowastlowast minus089lowastlowast 062lowastlowast 074lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 081lowastlowast 076lowastlowast 091lowastlowastFe minus079lowastlowast 086lowastlowast 083lowastlowast 089lowastlowast minus031lowast minus054lowastlowast minus058lowastlowast minus064lowastlowast minus065lowastlowast minus065lowastlowast minus085lowastlowastlowast lowastlowastSignificant at 005 and 001 probability levels respectively Ex Ac exchangeable acidity Ex Al exchangeable aluminium AS acid saturation OM organicmatter TN total nitrogen BP Bray-II P
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 7
all treatments except the application of chemical P alone(Table 6) e highest (77 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) and lowest(35 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) soil exchangeable Ca was obtained when thesoil was treated by VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) plus lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)and chemical P (40kgmiddothaminus1) respectively relative to the control(Table 6) Furthermore lime and VC when applied separatelyincreased soil exchangeable Ca over the control (Table 6) eincrease in exchangeable Ca due to the combined use of limeand VC could be associated with the release of Ca2+ from theapplied lime through its dissolution and vermicompost whichreplaces the acidic cations from the exchange siteerefore themost effective and significant increase was observed when VCwas combined with lime plus the chemical P fertilizeris is inagreement with the previous works of Hassen et al [73] andAdeleye et al [67] who reported increase in exchangeable Cafollowing combined application of lime and organic fertilizers
Soil exchangeable Mg was also significantly (Ple 0001)increased as a result of the treatments applied except thechemical P fertilizer (Table 6) Accordingly the highestexchangeable Mg (344 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) was recorded from in theapplication of lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) with VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1)(Table 6) e increased soil exchangeable Mg as a result oflime and VC application might be attributed to increase in
soil pH which in turn may have increased Mg availability inthe soil When VC was combined with lime and chemical Pfertilizer soil exchangeable Mg was increased and this wasattributed to addition of nutrients to the soil from the VC Inaddition the increase of soil pH by VC reduces Al3+ and H+
content in soil exchange sites and then increased Mgavailability e results are in agreement with those ofRepsiene and Skuodiene [74] and Andric et al [75] whoreported that soil exchangeable bases increased when acidicsoil was amended by lime and manure
e increase in soil exchangeable K and Na due toapplication of VC alone or in combination with the P fer-tilizer plus lime could be due to added K and Na from VCe VC used in the current study had 277 and142 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 of K and Na contents respectively whichmight have added significant amounts of these nutrients tothe soil (Table 2) is is supported by the report of Ayeniand Adetunji [76] Adeleye et al [67] and Adeniyan et al[77] who indicated that soil exchangeable bases increasewhen the biofertilizer was applied alone or in combinationwith the lime and P fertilizer
e effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) of the soilwas significantly (Ple 0001) affected by all treatments except
Table 5 Effects of treatments on organic matter total nitrogen and available phosphorus of the soil after incubation
Treatment Rate OM TN Bray mgmiddotkgminus1 II PControl 0 213l 020ij 45l
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 217jkl 021hi 56k
4 221jk 021hi 63gh
6 228i 023gh 62h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 217jkl 020ij 57jk
40 214l 019j 60i
60 216kl 021hi 62h
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 272h 021hi 58ij
50 320f 023gh 60i
75 399b 027abc 63gh
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 224ij 022hi 65f
CV () mdash 1 364 141lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testOM organic matter TN total nitrogen CN carbon to nitrogen ratio chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
8 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
the chemical P fertilizer when applied at the rate of 40 and60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1 (Table 6) is increase was due to improvedsoil conditions such as soil pH increased soil Ca Mg K andNa by VC and lime and increase of negative charges on thesurfaces of the soil colloids following the rise in pH eECEC increment might also be caused by deprotonation ofpH-dependent charge sites arising from VC is is inagreement with the findings of Edmeades [78] who statedthat ECEC increased with increasing pH of soils e ECECwas significantly increased with the increase of VC due to thegreater contents of exchangeable bases of VC is is sup-ported by Pandey and Shukla [79] who indicated that ap-plication of VC changed ECEC of the soil due to the changeof negative surfaces of the soil colloids
35 Effects of Treatments on Extractable Micronutrients (FeMn Zn and Cu) e extractable micronutrients weresignificantly (Ple 0001) affected by treatments (Table 7)Under almost all the treatments all extractable micro-nutrients decreased relative to the control (Table 7) eextractability of Fe Mn Zn and Cu tends to decrease as soilpH increased e exact mechanisms responsible for
reducing availability differ for each nutrient but can includeformation of low solubility compounds greater retention bysoil colloids when lime and VC are applied
e decrease in extractable Fe may be due to the changein pH caused by the amendments because the bioavailabilityof DTPA-extractable Fe was decreased when pH of the soilincreased In consent with this Imerb et al [80] and Waelet al [61] reported that extractable Fe decreased at pH levelsnear neutral or higher e application of lime and VCdecreased extractable Mn as compared with the control ismight be due to high CEC of organic fertilizer and its abilityto form chelate complexes with this nutrient Along withthis Angelova et al [64] reported that the application ofamendments decreased the extractable Mn concentration inthe soil which might be due to immobilization of Mn by theapplication of VC Extractable Zn was decreased signifi-cantly (Ple 0001) by the application of lime and VC and alsoin combination of all treatments is may be due to theincrement of soil pH and also the formation of insolubleform of Zn compound when it reacts with VC is inagreement with Walker et al [81] who pointed out that Znavailability is controlled by soil pH Angelova et al [64] alsoindicated that Zn can form insoluble compound precipitates
Table 6 Effects of treatments on exchangeable bases and effective cation exchange capacity
Treatment Rate Ex Ca Ex Mg Ex K Ex Na ECECcmolcmiddotkgminus1
CV () mdash 45 118 463 3 246lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testEx Ca exchangeable calcium Ex Mg exchangeable magnesium Ex K exchangeable potassium Ex Na exchangeable sodium ECEC effective cationexchange capacity chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9
during the mineralization of organic ameliorants e ex-tractable Cu was decreased by the application of amend-ments Especially VC supplements lead to lower content ofDTPA-extractable Cu is may be due to the trans-formation of OM in stable form that could link more Cu Inconcord to this Angelova et al [64] reported that enrich-ment of soil with OM could reduce the bioavailable Cu asa result of complexation of free ions of Cu
4 Conclusion
e study revealed that soils of the study area have limi-tations related to deficiency of major plant nutrient elementsand soil acidity As a result most of the soil propertiesmeasured responded positively to applications of lime VCand chemical P fertilizer either in combination or aloneisincubation experiment demonstrated that the application oflime VC and chemical P fertilizer could mitigate soil acidityand Al toxicity as well as improve soil fertility of acidic soilsof the study areae combined application of medium ratesof lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) and chemical P(40 kgmiddothaminus1) holds a lot of promise as an efficient alternativeto amend soil acidity and increase soil nutrient availabilityHowever the results need to be confirmed under field
conditions and the economic feasibility of application ofa particular combination needs to be quantified ereforefurther field work is recommended to verify this result
Conflicts of Interest
e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest
Acknowledgments
is work was supported by the Haramaya University re-search site (rare greenhouse) Haramaya University CentralLaboratory and Ethiopian Ministry of Education e au-thors acknowledge these institutions and staff members ofHaramayaUniversity Central Laboratory particularlyMr BaneKebede and staffmembers of greenhouse and the Nekemte SoilResearch Center for providing them the necessary support toconduct this study
References
[1] P Van Streaten Agro Geology the Use of Rocks for CropsEnviroquest Ltd Cambridge ON Canada 2007
Table 7 e effects of treatments on extractable micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) of the soil of the study area
Treatment Rate Fe Mn Zn Cumgmiddotkgminus1
Control 0 40a 36a 306a 365a
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 241c 31d 296bc 343b
4 166d 25h 241e 315d
6 143e 17k 223f 286h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 397a 36a 309a 366a
40 405a 36a 308a 365a
60 40a 36a 303ab 371a
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 307b 35b 299b 332c
5 298b 33c 290c 316d
75 298b 26g 278d 298ef
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 166d 24h 243e 314d
CV () mdash 314 103 123 092lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testchemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[2] S Kenyanjua M L Ireri S Wambua and S M NandwaldquoAcid soils in Kenya constraints and remedial optionsrdquo 2002KARI Technical Note No 11
[3] P O Kisinyo Constraints of soil acidity and nutrient depe-letion on maize (Zea mays L) production in Kenya PhDthesis Moi University Eldoret Kenya PhD thesis 2011
[4] P A Opala P O Kisinyo and R O Nyambati ldquoEffects ofTithonia diversifolia farmyard manure urea and phosphatefertilizer application methods on maize yields in westernKenyardquo Journal of Agriculture of Rural Develoment of Tropicsand Subtropics vol 116 no 1 pp 1ndash9 2015
[5] H Schlede Distribution of acid soils and liming materials inEthiopia Ethiopian Institute of Geological Surveys Ministryof Mines and Energy Addis Ababa Ethiopia 1989
[6] World Bank Staff Appraisal Report National Fertilizer SectorProject Ethiopia 1995 Report No 13722-ET
[7] W Haile and S Boke Mitigation of Soil Acidity and FertilityDecline Challenges for Sustainable Livelihood ImprovementResearch Findings from Southern Region of Ethiopia and ItsPolicy Implications Awassa Agricultural Research InstituteAwassa Ethiopia 2009
[8] M Abebe Ce Nature and Management of Acid Soils inEthiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2007
[9] V Viterello F Capadi and V Stefanuto ldquoRecent advances inAl and resentance in higher plantsrdquo Brazil Plant Physiologyvol 17 no 1 pp 129ndash143 2005
[10] E Ouma D Ligeyo T Matonyei et al ldquoEnhancing maizegrain yield in acid soils of Western Kenya using Al tolerantgermplasmrdquo Journal of Agricultural Science and Technologyvol 3 pp 33ndash46 2013
[11] C e H Calba C Zonkeng E M Ngonkeu andV O Adetimirin ldquoResponse of maize grain yield to changesin acid soil characterstics after soil amendmentrdquo Plant Soilvol 284 pp 45ndash57 2006
[12] M K Yao P K Angui S Konate et al ldquoEffects of land usetypes on soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics in mid-west Cote drsquoIvoirerdquo European Journal of Science and Researchvol 40 pp 211ndash222 2010
[13] N Z Lupwayi and I Haque ldquoPhosphorous a prerequisite forincreased productivity of forage and browsefree legumes inthe Ethiopian highlandsrdquo in Proceedings of the Second Con-ference of the Ethiopian Society of Soil Science Addis AbabaEthiopia September 1993
[14] S Boke ldquoSoil phosphorous fractions influenced by differentcropping system in Andosols and Nitisols in Kambata-Tenbaro and Wolaita Zones SNNPRS Ethiopiardquo AlemayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia MSc thesis 2004
[15] P O Kisinyo C O Othieno S O Gudu et al ldquoImmediateand residual effects of lime and phosphorus fertilizer on soilacidity and maize production in western Kenyardquo Experi-mental agriculture vol 50 no 1 pp 128ndash143 2014
[16] A Melese Y Markku and B Yitaferu ldquoEffects of lime woodash manure and mineral P fertilizer rates on acidity relatedchemical properties and growth and P uptake of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) on acid soil of Farta district North-western Highlands of Ethiopiardquo International Journal ofAgriculture and Crop Sciences vol 8 no 2 pp 256ndash269 2015
[17] D Mengesha and L Mekonnen ldquoIntegrated agronomic cropmanagements to improve teff productivity under terminaldroughtrdquo in Water Stress I Md M Rahman andH Hasegawa Eds pp 235ndash254 Intech Open ScienceLondon UK 2012
[18] N Q Arancon C A Edwards R Atiyeh and J D MetzgerldquoEffects of vermicompost produced from food waste on the
growth and yields of greenhouse peppersrdquo Bio-ResourcesTechnology vol 93 no 2 pp 139ndash144 2004
[19] J Dominguez ldquoState of the art and new perspectives onvermicomposting researchrdquo in Earthworm EcologyC A Edwardspp 401ndash424 CRC Press Boca Raton FL USA2nd edition 2004
[20] R M Azarmi T Giglou and R D Taleshmikail ldquoInfluence ofvermicompost on soil chemical and physical properties intomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) fieldrdquo African Journal ofBio-technology vol 7 pp 2397ndash2401 2008
[21] L Angin E L Aksakal T Oztas and A Hanay ldquoEffects ofmunicipal solid waste compost (MSWC) application oncertain physical properties of soils subjected to freeze-thawrdquoSoil Tillage Research vol 130 pp 58ndash61 2013
[22] J Lordan M Pascual and F Fonseca ldquoUse of rice husk toenhance peach tree performance in soil switch limitingphysical propertiesrdquo Soil Tillage and Research vol 129pp 19ndash22 2013
[23] R Abafita ldquoEvaluation of vermicompost on maize pro-ductivity and determine optimum rate for maize productionrdquoWorld Journal of Biology and Medical Sciences vol 3 no 1pp 9ndash22 2016
[24] M R Haj Seyed Hadi M T Darzi Z Ghandehari andG H Riazi ldquoEffects of vermicompost and amino acids on theflower yield and essential oil production from Matricariachamomilla L J of Medrdquo Plants Research vol 5 no 23pp 5611ndash5617 2011
[25] S Suthar ldquoEffect of vermicompost and inorganic fertilizer onwheat (Triticum aestivum) productionrdquo Nature Environ-mental Pollution Technology vol 5 pp 197ndash201 2006
[26] S I Glenda B Ismet K Skender and B Astrit ldquoe influenceof vermicompost on plant growth characteristics of cucumber(Cucumis sativus L) seedlings under saline conditionsrdquoJournal of Food Agriculture and Environmental vol 7pp 869ndash872 2009
[27] R K Sinha S Agarwal K Chaudhan and D Valani ldquoewonders of earthworms and its vermicomposting in farmproduction Charles Darwinrsquos friends of farmersrsquo with po-tential to replace destructive chemical fertilizers from agri-culturerdquo Agricultural Science vol 1 no 2 pp 76ndash94 2010
[28] A Mahajan R M Bhagat and R D Gupta ldquoIntegratednutrient management in sustainable rice-wheat croppingsystem for food security in Indiardquo SAARC Journal of Agri-culture vol 6 no 2 pp 29ndash32 2008
[29] R Singh and S K Agarwal ldquoGrowth and yield of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) as influenced by levels of farmyardmanure and nitrogenrdquo Indian Journal of Agronomy vol 46no 3 pp 462ndash467 2001
[30] G Angachew ldquoAmeliorating effects of organic and inorganicfertilizers on crop productivity and soil properties on reddish-brown soilsrdquo in Proceedings of the 10th Conference of theEthiopian Society of Soil Science pp 127ndash150 Addis AbabaEthiopia March 2009
[31] A F Gafar M Yassin D Ibrahim and S O Yagoob ldquoEffectof different (bio organic and inorganic) fertilizers on someyield components of rice (Oryza sativa L)rdquo Universal Journalof Agricultural Research vol 2 no 2 pp 67ndash70 2014
[32] A Chimdi H Gebrekidan K Kibret and A Tadesse ldquoEffectsof liming on acidity-related chemical properties of soils ofdifferent land use systems in Western Oromia EthiopiardquoWorld Journal of Agricultural Science vol 8 no 6 pp 560ndash567 2012
[33] A Kidanemariam ldquoSoil acidity characterization and effects ofliming and chemical fertilization on dry matter yield and
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
nutrient uptake of wheat (Triticum aestivum L) on soils ofTsegede District Northern Ethiopiardquo PhD thesis HaramayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia PhD thesis 2013
[34] B Teshome ldquoEffect of compost lime and P on selectedproperties of acidic soils of Asosardquo Journal of Biology Ag-riculture and Healthcare vol 7 no 5 pp 2224ndash3208 2017
[35] A Abraham Studied Rock Units of Western Ethiopia AddisAbaba EthiopiaGeological Survey Bulletin Note No 305 1990
[36] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) Edited by P Driessen J Deckers andF Nachtergaele Eds Food and Agricultural OrganizationsRome Italy 2001
[37] M AbebeNatures andManagement of Ethiopian Soils AlemayaUniversity of Agriculture Haramaya Ethiopia 1998
[38] FAO (Food andAgricultureOrganization of theUnitedNations)Soil Map of the World Revised Legend World Soil ResourceReport 60 FAO Rome Italy 1990
[39] NMA (National Meteorological Agency) Gida AyanaWeather Station Rainfall and Temperature Data NMA AsosaEthiopia 2015
[40] G H Bouyoucos ldquoA recalibration of the hydrometer formaking mechanical analysis of soilsrdquo Agricultural Journalsvol 43 pp 434ndash438 1951
[41] V C Jamison H H Weaver and I F Reed ldquoA hammer-driven soil core samplerrdquo Soil Science vol 69 pp 487ndash4961950
[42] T C Barauah and H P Barthakulh A Text Book of SoilAnalysis Vikas Publishing House New Delhi India 1997
[43] S H Chopra and J S Kanwar Analytical AgriculturalChemistry Kalyani Publisher Bengaluru India 1976
[44] D L Rowell Method and Applications Addison WesleyLongman Limited London UK 1994
[45] A Walkley and I A Black ldquoAn examination of the Degtjareffmethod for determining soil organic matter and proposedmodification of the titration methodrdquo Soil Science vol 37pp 29ndash38 1934
[46] J M Bremner and C S Mulvaney ldquoNitrogen-totalrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Part 2 Chemical and MicrobiologicalProperties A L Page R HMiller andD R Keeneypp 595ndash624American Society of AgronomyMadisonWI USA 2nd edition1982
[47] H R Bray and L T Kurtz ldquoDetermination of organic andavailable forms of phosphorus in soilsrdquo Soil Science vol 59no 1 pp 39ndash46 1945
[48] H D Chapman ldquoCation exchange capacity by ammoniumsaturationrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Agronomy Part II No9 CA Black Ed pp 891ndash901 American Society ofAgronomy Madison WI USA 1965
[49] M Pansu and J Gautheyrou Handbook of Soil AnalysisSpringer New York NY USA 2006
[50] S Sertsu and T Bekele ldquoProcedures for soil and plantanalysisrdquo National Soil Research Center Ethiopian Agricul-tural Research Organization (EARO) Addis Ababa EthiopiaTechnical paper 74 2000
[51] C Pisa andMWuta ldquoEvaluation of composting performanceof mixtures of chicken blood and maize stover in HarareZimbabwerdquo International Journal of Recycling of OrganicWaste in Agriculture vol 2 no 1 pp 1ndash11 2013
[52] P M Ndegwa and S A ompson ldquoIntegrating compostingand vermicomposting in the treatment and bioconversion ofsolidsrdquo Bioresource Technology vol 76 pp 107ndash112 2001
[53] J R Okalebo K W Guthua and P J Woomer LaboratoryMethods of Soil and Plant Analysis a Working Manual TSBF-CIAT and SACRED Africa Nairobi Kenya 2002
[54] A D Manson and V Katusic Potato Fertilization in Kwa-zulu-Natal Cedara Report NoNA9724 Cedara Reportsand Publications 1997
[55] M P W Farina and P Chanon ldquoA field comparison of limerequirement indices for maizerdquo Plant and Soil vol 134pp 127ndash135 1991
[56] SAS (Statistical Analysis System) SASSTAT Userrsquos GuideProprietary Software Version 92 SAS Inst Inc Cary NCUSA 2004
[57] J B JonesAgronomic Handbook Management of Crops Soilsand Ceir Fertility CRC Press LLC Boca Raton FL USA2003
[58] T Tadese ldquoSoil plant water fertilizer animal manure andcompost analysisrdquo International Livestock Research centerfor Africa Addis Ababa Ethiopia Working document No 131991
[59] B Clements and I McGowen Strategic Fertilizer Use onPastures NSW Agriculture Agnote Reg 457 Orange NSWAustralia 1994
[60] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) World Reference Base for Soil Resources AFramework for International Classification Correlation andCommunication World Soil Resources Reports No 103 2ndedition 2006
[61] M N Wael V R Leon C Sarina and B Oswald ldquoEffect ofvermicompost on soil and plant properties of coal spoil in theLusatian region (Eastern Germany)rdquo Karl-Liebknecht Strassevol 24-25 p 14476 2011
[62] K Asciutto M C Rivera E R Wright D Morisigue andM V Lopez ldquoEffect of vermicompost on the growth andhealth of Impatiens walleranardquo International Journal of Ex-perimental Botany vol 75 pp 115ndash123 2006
[63] P O Kisinyo S O Gudu C O Othieno et al ldquoEffects of limephosphorus and Rhizobia on Sesbania sesban performance ina Western Kenyan acid soilrdquo African Journal of AgriculturalResearch vol 7 no 18 pp 2800ndash2809 2012
[64] V R Angelova V I Akova N S Artinova and K I Ivanovldquoe effect of organic amendments on soil chemical char-acteristicsrdquo Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science vol 19no 5 pp 958ndash971 2013
[65] P A Opala J R Okalebo and C O Othieno ldquoEffects oforganic and inorganic materials on soil acidity and phos-phorus availability in a soil incubation studyrdquo InternationalScholarly Research Network Agronomy vol 2012 article597216 10 pages 2012
[66] A A Amba E B Agbo N Voncir andM O Oyawoye ldquoEffectof phosphorus fertilizer on some soil chemical properties andnitrogen fixation of legumes at Bauchirdquo Continental Journal ofAgricultural Science vol 5 no 1 pp 39ndash44 2011
[67] E O Adeleye L S Ayeni and S O Ojeniyi ldquoEffect of poultrymanure on soil physicochemical properties leaf nutrientcontents and yield of Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) on Alfisol inSouthwestern Nigeriardquo Journal of American Science vol 6no 10 pp 871ndash878 2010
[68] A Efthimiadou D Bilalis A Karkanis and B Froud-Wil-liams ldquoCombined organicinorganic fertilization enhance soilquality and increased yield photosynthesis and sustainabilityof sweet maize croprdquo Australian Journal of Crop Sciencevol 4 no 9 pp 722ndash729 2010
[69] D D Mary and S Sivagami ldquoEffect of individual andcombined application of bio-fertilisers vermicompost andinorganic fertilizers on soil enzymes and minerals during thepost harvesting stage of chillirdquo Research Journal of Agricultureand Environmental Management vol 3 pp 434ndash441 2014
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[70] M O Anetor and E A Akinrinde ldquoResponse of soybean[Glycine max (L) Merrill] to lime and phosphorus fertilizertreatments on an acidic Alfisol of Nigeriardquo Pakistan Journal ofNutrition vol 5 no 3 pp 286ndash293 2006
[71] P O Kisinyo ldquoMaize response to organic and inorganic soilamendments grown under tropical acidic soil of KenyardquoJournal of Agricultural Science and Food Technology vol 2no 3 pp 35ndash40 2016
[72] P A Opala J R Okalebo C O Othieno and P KisinyoldquoEffects of organic and inorganic phosphorus sources onmaize yields in acid soils of western Kenyardquo Nutrient Cyclingin Agroecosystems vol 86 pp 317ndash329 2010
[73] A Hassan A Mohamad A Abdu R M Idrus andN A Besar ldquoSoil properties under Orthosiphon stamineus(Benth) intercropped with Durio zibethinus (Murr) andtreated with various organic fertilizersrdquo in Proceedings of the19th World Congress of Soil Science Soil Solutions fora Changing World Brisbane Australia August 2010
[74] R Repsiene and R Skuodiene ldquoe influence of liming andorganic fertilization on the changes of some agrochemicalindicators and their relationship with crop weed incidencerdquoZemdirbyste Agriculture vol 97 no 4 pp 3ndash14 2010
[75] L Andric M Rastija T Teklic and V Kovacevic ldquoResponseof maize and soybeans to limingrdquo Turkish Journal of Agri-culture and Forestry vol 36 pp 415ndash420 2012
[76] L S Ayeni and M T Adetunji ldquoIntegrated application ofpoultry manure and mineral fertilizer on soil chemicalproperties nutrient uptake yields and growth components ofmaizerdquo Nature and Science vol 8 no 1 pp 60ndash67 2010
[77] O N Adeniyan A O Ojo O A Akinbode andJ A Adediran ldquoComparative study of different organicmanures and NPK fertilizer for improvement of soil chemicalproperties and dry matter yield of maize in two differentsoilsrdquo Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Managementvol 2 no 1 pp 9ndash13 2011
[78] D C Edmeades ldquoEffects of lime on effective cation exchangecapacity and exchangeable cations on a range of New Zealandsoilsrdquo New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research vol 25no 1 pp 27ndash33 2012
[79] C Pandey and S Shukla ldquoEffects of composted yard waste onwater movement in sandy soilrdquo Compost Science and Utili-zation vol 14 no 4 pp 252ndash259 2006
[80] R Imerb N Bamroongrugsa K Kawashima T Amano andS Kato ldquoUtilization of coal ash to improve acid soilrdquoSongklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology vol 26no 5 pp 697ndash708 2004
[81] D J Walker R Clemente A Roig and M P Bernal ldquoeeffects of soil amendments on heavy metal bioavailability intwo contaminated Mediterranean soilsrdquo Environmental Pol-lution vol 122 pp 303ndash312 2003
moisture was adjusted to a constant weight 60 (eld ca-pacity) with distilled water at the end of every 3-day period
In this experiment lime (CaCO3) at rates of 2 4 and6 tonsmiddothaminus1 (corresponding with 0231 0462 and 0693 g03 kg soil resp) based on the results from LR tests to reachdesired pH values three VC rates (25 5 and 75 tonsmiddothaminus1)and three mineral P fertilizer rates (20 40 and 60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1)as triple superphosphate (Ca(H2PO4)2) were separatelyapplied uniformly to the whole soil volume e lime rate(4 tonsmiddothaminus1) was combined separately with each of VC andmineral P fertilizer rates as treatments VC rate (5 tonsmiddothaminus1)was combined separately with each of mineral P fertilizerrate and dierent rates of lime and VC and mineral P werecombined and applied to the soil as additional ve treat-ments A control treatment with no soil amendments wasused for the incubation experiment A total of 48 pots wereused for the incubation experimente experiment was laiddown in a completely randomized design (CRD) with tworeplications e units of the treatments were converted intohectare bases by assuming that the plough depth is 20 cmand ρb of the soil is 13 gmiddotcm
minus3 e soils were incubated withthe treatments in the pots for two months (November andDecember 2014) at Haramaya University main campus (rare)
Soil samples were taken at the end of the incubationtime air-dried ground and sieved through 2mm and05mm sieve to observe the eects of lime VC andmineral Pindividually and in combined form on selected soil acidityrelated and other soil chemical properties at HaramayaUniversity central and soil chemistry laboratory
23 SoilAnalyses Soil particle size distribution was analyzedby the Bouyoucus hydrometer method [40] after the soilsamples were dispersed with sodium hexametaphosphate[(NaPO3)6] Soil bulk density (ρb) was measured from threeundisturbed soil samples collected using a core sampler(25 cm radius and 50 cm height) as per the proceduredescribed by Jamison et al [41] while particle density (ρs)wasmeasured using the pycnometer [42] at the Nekemte Soil
Research Center Total porosity (φ) was calculated from thevalues of ρb and ρs as follows
φ 1minusρbρs
( )lowast 100 (1)
Soil pH was measured potentiometrically in 1 25 soil H2O suspension using a combined glass electrode pH meter[43] Total exchangeable acidity was determined by satu-rating the soil samples with 1MmiddotKCl suspension as describedby [44] From the same extract exchangeable Al in the soilsamples was determined by application of 1MmiddotNaF whichforms a complex with Al and releases NaOH Acid satu-ration (AS) was calculated as follows
AS () exchangeable acidity cmolc middotkg
minus1( )ECEC cmolc middotkg
minus1( )times 100 (2)
where AS refers to acid saturation and ECEC refers to ef-fective cation exchange capacity
Organic carbon (OC) content of the soil was determinedby the wet combustion procedure of Walkley and Black [45]Organic matter was determined by multiplying OC by 1724factors e total nitrogen (N) content of the soil was deter-mined by wet-oxidation procedure of the Kjeldahl method[46] Available P was extracted by the Bray-II method [47]using 003MmiddotNH4F and 01MmiddotHCl solution
Exchangeable basic cations (Ca Mg K and Na) weredetermined by saturating several times the soil samples with1MmiddotNH4OAc solution at pH 70 en Ca and Mg weredetermined by using atomic absorption spectrophotometry(AAS) while exchangeable Na and K were measured bybrvbarame photometer from the same extract [48] e eectivecation exchange capacity (ECEC) was calculated as the sumof exchangeable acidity (Al3+ and H+) and exchangeablebasic cations (Ca2+ Mg2+ K+ and Na+) [49]
e extractable micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) wereextracted by diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA)and all these micronutrients were measured by AAS [50]
24 Vermicompost and LimeAnalyses eVC was preparedfrom decomposition of cow dung sheep and goat manurescrop and home residues and weeds and grasses by using redearthworm (Eisenia fetida) Selected parameters of VC weredetermined using dried samples which were ground to passthrough a 2mm sieve as described by Pisa and Wuta [51]Electrical conductivity (EC) and pH were determined froma suspension of 1 10 VC H2O as described by Ndegwa andompson [52] e total OC was estimated by the wetdigestion and rapid titration method [45] e total Ncontent of the VC was determined by wet-oxidation pro-cedure of the Kjeldahl method [46] Total Ca Mg K and Nawere extracted by wet digestion using concentrated sul-phuric acid (H2SO4) selenium (Se) powder lithium sulphate(Li2SO4) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) mixture [53] TotalCa and Mg were determined from the wet digested samplesby AAS while K and Na were estimated by brvbarame pho-tometer Total P was extracted using concentrated H2SO4 Se
Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov DecMonth
Mean rainfall (mm)Mean max (degC)Mean min (degC)
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
Mea
n ra
infa
ll (m
m)
0
5
10
15
20
25
Tem
pera
ture
(degC)
Figure 2 Mean monthly rainfall (mm) minimum and maximumtemperatures (degC) of the study area recorded for the year from 2006to 2015 Source National Meteorological Agency Gida AyanaMeteorological Station
4 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
powder salicylic acid (C7H6O3) and H2O2 mixture [53]Total micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) were extractedusing concentrated H2SO4 Se powder C7H6O3 and H2O2mixture and their concentrations were determined from thewet digested samples by AAS [53]
e calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE) of the Guderlime was determined by dissolving the lime using excess ofstandard 05MmiddotHCl and followed by gentle boiling Afterfiltration the excess HCl was back titrated with standard01MmiddotNaOH solution From the amount of NaOH used toneutralize the excess acid of the blank and the filtrate theCCE value of the lime was calculated [50]
Lime requirement was determined by the acid saturationmethod to ameliorate the acidic soil of the study site for themaize crop e acid saturation method uses exchangeableacidity ECEC and permissible acid saturation percentage ofcrops to calculate the amount of lime to be applied Using theacid saturation method lime requirement is calculated asfollows [54]
LR kg middothaminus11113872 1113873 LRF [Ex acidity minus(ECEClowastPAS)] (3)
where LR lime requirement LRF lime requirementfactor (kgmiddotlimemiddothaminus1) to lower the Ex acidity by 1 cmol(3000 kg limehacmole) [55] for most Ethiopian soilsEx acidity exchangeable acidity (Al3+ +H+) PAS per-missible acid saturation and ECEC effective cation ex-change capacity (exchangeable acidity + exchangeable bases)
25 Statistical Analysis Analysis of variance was carried outon the effect of treatments on selected soil chemical propertiesusing SAS software [56] Duncanrsquos multiple range test wasemployed to test the significance difference between means oftreatments Simple Pearson correlation analysis was executedto determine the associations between various soil acidityparameters and different soil chemical properties
3 Results and Discussion
31 Initial Soil Properties and Vermicompost Compositione results of laboratory analysis of selected properties of thesoil used for the experiment are presented in Table 1 etextural class of the soil used for the incubation experimentis loam e bulk density of the soil was below the criticalvalue of bulk density (16 gcmminus3) for plant growth at whichroot penetration is likely to be severely restricted in a loamsoil [57] while the particle density is lower than the averageparticle density value for a mineral soil Due to the low bulkdensity value the total porosity of the soil was relativelyhigh e soil was strongly acidic [57] with relatively highcontent of exchangeable acidity and Al e percentage acidsaturation of the soil was 307e organic matter and totalnitrogen contents of the soil were in the range of low andmoderate respectively [58] while the available P contentwas in the low range [59] Similarly the mean soil ex-changeable Ca and K were low whereas exchangeable Mgwas within the range of medium [60] e effective CEC ofthe soils was also relatively low probably due to the dom-inance of low activity clay minerals in the highly weathered
soils of the study area As per rating suggested by Jones [57]the soil was high in DTPA-extractable Fe Mn and Zn andmedium in extractable Cu [57] In general the results of thesoil preanalysis clearly indicate that the soil has soil fertilityproblems that include deficiency of major plant nutrientsand soil acidity that limit successful production of crops inthe study area is calls for development of appropriatemanagement practices that enhance crop production ona sustainable basis
e lime used in this study had CCE value of 887Table 2 shows the nutrient contents of the vermicompostused for the experiment e nutrients are likely to be
Table 1 Selected physical and chemical properties of the exper-imental soil before incubation
Parameters ValueSand () 500Silt () 380Clay () 120Textural class LoamBD (gmiddotcmminus3) 130PD (gmiddotcmminus3) 228TP () 4300pH (H2O) 480Exchangeable acidity (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 244Exchangeable Al (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 203AS () 3070OM () 215Total N () 018Available P by Bray-II (mgmiddotkgminus1) 460Exchangeable Ca (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 351Exchangeable Mg (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 161Exchangeable K (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 027Exchangeable Na (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 011ECEC (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 794Fe (mgmiddotkgminus1) 3510Mn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 3670Zn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 296Cu (mgmiddotkgminus1) 273BD bulk density PD particle density TP total porosity AS acid satu-ration OM organic matter total N total nitrogen ECEC effective cationexchange capacity
Table 2 Chemical characterization of vermicompost
Vermicompost ValuepH (H2O) (1 10) 75EC (dSmminus1) (1 10) 52Total OC () 143Total N () 195Total P (gmiddotkgminus1) 53Ca (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 363Mg (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 198K (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 277Na (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 142Fe (mgmiddotkgminus1) 2190Mn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 3970Zn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 1520Cu (mgmiddotkgminus1) 950EC electrical conductivity total OC total organic carbon total N totalnitrogen total P total phosphorus
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 5
derived from decomposition of the organic matter by theactivities of microorganisms e contents of the VC coulddecrease soil acidity and enhance soil fertility in the stronglyacidic soils of the study area is is manifested by the highpH of the compost In line with the findings of this studyWael et al [61] stated that VC was used to increase the pH inacidic soils and reduce Al and Mn toxicity because of itsalkalinity Arancon et al [18] and Asciutto et al [62] alsoreported that VC contains most nutrients such as ex-changeable Ca phosphates and soluble K in plant availableforms
32 Effects of Treatments on pH Exchangeable Acidity and AlandAcid Saturation e lime at each respective applicationlevel alone or in combination with VC had significant(Ple 0001) effects on soil pH exchangeable acidity and Aland acid saturation (AS) (Table 3) e highest lime rate (6tonsmiddotCaCO3middothaminus1) significantly (Ple 0001) increased the pHfrom 480 to 601 reduced both the exchangeable acidity andAl from 24 to 017 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 and 170 to 033 cmolcmiddotkgminus1respectively and reduced acid saturation from 30 to 162
is might be because lime contains Ca2+ cation to exchangeandor replace H+ ion on the exchange sites and anions suchas CO3
2- to neutralize the H+ ion released from the exchangesites and hydrolyzing Al species to the soil solution Inconsent with the results of this study Kisinyo et al [63] andKisinyo et al [15] reported that application of lime to acidsoils increased Ca2+ andor Mg2+ ions and reduced Al3+ H+Mn2+ and Fe2+ ions in the soil solution
Vermicompost at each respective application levels hadalso significant (Ple 0001) effects on the soil pH ex-changeable acidity and Al and AS (Table 3) e rise in soilpH due to application of VC might be attributed to its highcontent of basic cations and pH which could reduce soilacidity and the contents of exchangeable acidity and Althrough replacing the acidic cations from the exchange sitesis is in agreement with the findings of Angelova et al [64]who pointed out that the direction of the change in soil pH asa result of VC application reflected the initial pH of VC
Generally the combination of all lime-VC treatmentssignificantly (Ple 0001) increased soil pH and decreasedexchangeable acidity and Al relative to the control (Table 3)Combination of the highest level of VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) with
Table 3 Effects of the treatments on pH exchangeable acidity and exchangeable Al and percent acid saturation of soil in the incubationstudy
Treatment Rate pH Ex Ac Ex Al AScmolcmiddotkgminus1
CV () mdash 203 251 255 514lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testEx Ac exchangeable acidity Ex Al exchangeable aluminium AS acid saturation chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient ofvariation
6 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) increased pH from 480 to 605 and decreasedexchangeable acidity and Al from 238 to 017 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 and045 to 009 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 respectively (Table 3) When lime ata rate of 4 tonsmiddothaminus1 was applied to the soil in combination withVC at the rate of 5 and 75 tonsmiddothaminus1 the soil pH increased to theoptimum pH for many crops e correlation analysis alsoindicated that the pH of the soils was correlated with the ex-changeable acidity (r minus087lowastlowast Ple 001) exchangeable Al(r minus087lowastlowast Ple 001) and AS (r minus088lowastlowast Ple 001) (Ta-ble 4) is is in agreement with Opala et al [65] who indicatedthat the combination of organic fertilizers having liming effectand inorganic fertilizers decreased exchangeable acidity which inturn increased soil pH
e chemical P fertilizer had no significant (Ple 0001)effect on soil pH exchangeable acidity and Al and AS whenapplied alone over the control (Table 3) Along with thisKisinyo et al [63] reported that application of the P fertilizeralone to acidic soils did not increase the soil pH neitherreduced soil exchangeable acidity
33 Effects of Treatments on Organic Matter Total Nitrogenand Available Phosphorus Compared to the control all theother treatments showed significant (Ple 0001) increase insoil OM except all levels of chemical P and the combination oflime (4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1) with all levels of the chemical Pfertilizer (Table 5) e highest content of OM (41) wasobtained when the soil was treated by the combination of lime(4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1) with highest level of VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1)(Table 5) Lime and VC application either individually or incombination increased soil pH and OM content which inturn enhances the microbial population An increase in pHmay decrease the stress on soil microbes and microbial ac-tivity and thus increases soil OM is is supported by thecorrelation in which pH was positively and significantly(r 055lowastlowast Ple 001) correlated with OM (Table 4) Inagreement with this Amba et al [66] indicated that soil OCincrement after the application of lime and manure wasassociated with the general improvement of soil conditions
e application of treatments significantly (Ple 0001)increased soil total N except the three rates of the chemical Pfertilizer alone (Table 5)e application of OM in the form ofVC is expected to increase theOM and TN contents of the soil
is is also evidenced by the total by the positive and sig-nificant correlation between total N (r 089lowastlowast Ple 001)and OM (Table 4)is is in agreement with Adeleye et al [67]and Efthimiadou et al [68] who stated that soil total N in-creases when biofertilizers are solely applied due to the ad-dition of OMMary and Sivagami [69] also reported that VC isrich in total Ne highest increment of total N (029mgmiddotkgminus1)was obtained when lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) was applied in com-bination with VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) (Table 5) Similar to theresults of the current study Biruk et al [34] reported increasein total N in acidic soils treated with lime and compost
e available P of the soil varied from 45 to 83mgmiddotkgminus1after incubation (Table 5) e highest available P was ob-tained when chemical P (60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1) lime (2 tonsmiddothaminus1)and VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) were applied in combinationerefore the application of the treatments at these ratessignificantly (Ple 00001) increased available P by 45 overthe control (Table 5) is might be due to the significant(Ple 0001) increase in soil pH due to the effect of lime andVC which in turn reduced P fixation is is also supportedby the results of the simple correlation analysis which in-dicated that the available P of the soil was positively andsignificantly correlated to the pH (r 069lowastlowast Ple 001)(Table 4)is is in harmony with the findings of Anetor andAkinrinde [70] who indicated that increase in soil pH due tolime application reduced P fixation Similarly Kisinyo et al[63] reported that the application of lime and chemical Pfertilizer in sole or combination had significantly positiveeffect on soil pH and available P in acid soils Application ofthe P fertilizer increased available P due to increase of P insoil Similar increase in soil available P in tropical soils hasbeen reported by Kisinyo et al [15] and Opala et al [4]Combined application of chemical P and VC increased soilavailable P more than when either of them were appliedalone is was because the organic material reduced soil Psorption making both the soil native P and the applied Pfertilizer available for plant uptake Similar results werereported by Kisinyo [71] and Opala et al [72]
34 Effects of Treatments on Exchangeable Bases andEffective Cation Exchange Capacity Soil exchangeable Cawas significantly (Ple 0001) increased by the application of
Table 4 Pearson correlation coefficients r among selected soil chemical properties
pH2O Ex Ac Ex Al AS OM TN BP Ca Mg K NaEx Ac minus087lowastlowastEx Al minus087lowastlowast 093lowastlowastAS minus088lowastlowast 092lowastlowast 087lowastlowastOM 055lowastlowast minus026 minus039lowast minus050lowastlowastTN 075lowastlowast minus051lowastlowast minus063lowastlowast minus067lowastlowast 089lowastlowastBP 069lowastlowast minus056lowastlowast minus053lowastlowast minus066lowastlowast 057lowastlowast 065lowastlowastCa 072lowastlowast minus057lowastlowast minus059lowastlowast minus081lowastlowast 085lowastlowast 083lowastlowast 065lowastlowastMg 078lowastlowast 078lowastlowast minus071lowastlowast minus080lowastlowast 081lowastlowast 085lowastlowast 059lowastlowast 091lowastlowastK 084lowastlowast minus076lowastlowast minus081lowastlowast minus088lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 082lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 084lowastlowast 085lowastlowastNa 079lowastlowast minus075lowastlowast minus075lowastlowast minus089lowastlowast 062lowastlowast 074lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 081lowastlowast 076lowastlowast 091lowastlowastFe minus079lowastlowast 086lowastlowast 083lowastlowast 089lowastlowast minus031lowast minus054lowastlowast minus058lowastlowast minus064lowastlowast minus065lowastlowast minus065lowastlowast minus085lowastlowastlowast lowastlowastSignificant at 005 and 001 probability levels respectively Ex Ac exchangeable acidity Ex Al exchangeable aluminium AS acid saturation OM organicmatter TN total nitrogen BP Bray-II P
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 7
all treatments except the application of chemical P alone(Table 6) e highest (77 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) and lowest(35 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) soil exchangeable Ca was obtained when thesoil was treated by VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) plus lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)and chemical P (40kgmiddothaminus1) respectively relative to the control(Table 6) Furthermore lime and VC when applied separatelyincreased soil exchangeable Ca over the control (Table 6) eincrease in exchangeable Ca due to the combined use of limeand VC could be associated with the release of Ca2+ from theapplied lime through its dissolution and vermicompost whichreplaces the acidic cations from the exchange siteerefore themost effective and significant increase was observed when VCwas combined with lime plus the chemical P fertilizeris is inagreement with the previous works of Hassen et al [73] andAdeleye et al [67] who reported increase in exchangeable Cafollowing combined application of lime and organic fertilizers
Soil exchangeable Mg was also significantly (Ple 0001)increased as a result of the treatments applied except thechemical P fertilizer (Table 6) Accordingly the highestexchangeable Mg (344 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) was recorded from in theapplication of lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) with VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1)(Table 6) e increased soil exchangeable Mg as a result oflime and VC application might be attributed to increase in
soil pH which in turn may have increased Mg availability inthe soil When VC was combined with lime and chemical Pfertilizer soil exchangeable Mg was increased and this wasattributed to addition of nutrients to the soil from the VC Inaddition the increase of soil pH by VC reduces Al3+ and H+
content in soil exchange sites and then increased Mgavailability e results are in agreement with those ofRepsiene and Skuodiene [74] and Andric et al [75] whoreported that soil exchangeable bases increased when acidicsoil was amended by lime and manure
e increase in soil exchangeable K and Na due toapplication of VC alone or in combination with the P fer-tilizer plus lime could be due to added K and Na from VCe VC used in the current study had 277 and142 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 of K and Na contents respectively whichmight have added significant amounts of these nutrients tothe soil (Table 2) is is supported by the report of Ayeniand Adetunji [76] Adeleye et al [67] and Adeniyan et al[77] who indicated that soil exchangeable bases increasewhen the biofertilizer was applied alone or in combinationwith the lime and P fertilizer
e effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) of the soilwas significantly (Ple 0001) affected by all treatments except
Table 5 Effects of treatments on organic matter total nitrogen and available phosphorus of the soil after incubation
Treatment Rate OM TN Bray mgmiddotkgminus1 II PControl 0 213l 020ij 45l
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 217jkl 021hi 56k
4 221jk 021hi 63gh
6 228i 023gh 62h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 217jkl 020ij 57jk
40 214l 019j 60i
60 216kl 021hi 62h
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 272h 021hi 58ij
50 320f 023gh 60i
75 399b 027abc 63gh
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 224ij 022hi 65f
CV () mdash 1 364 141lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testOM organic matter TN total nitrogen CN carbon to nitrogen ratio chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
8 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
the chemical P fertilizer when applied at the rate of 40 and60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1 (Table 6) is increase was due to improvedsoil conditions such as soil pH increased soil Ca Mg K andNa by VC and lime and increase of negative charges on thesurfaces of the soil colloids following the rise in pH eECEC increment might also be caused by deprotonation ofpH-dependent charge sites arising from VC is is inagreement with the findings of Edmeades [78] who statedthat ECEC increased with increasing pH of soils e ECECwas significantly increased with the increase of VC due to thegreater contents of exchangeable bases of VC is is sup-ported by Pandey and Shukla [79] who indicated that ap-plication of VC changed ECEC of the soil due to the changeof negative surfaces of the soil colloids
35 Effects of Treatments on Extractable Micronutrients (FeMn Zn and Cu) e extractable micronutrients weresignificantly (Ple 0001) affected by treatments (Table 7)Under almost all the treatments all extractable micro-nutrients decreased relative to the control (Table 7) eextractability of Fe Mn Zn and Cu tends to decrease as soilpH increased e exact mechanisms responsible for
reducing availability differ for each nutrient but can includeformation of low solubility compounds greater retention bysoil colloids when lime and VC are applied
e decrease in extractable Fe may be due to the changein pH caused by the amendments because the bioavailabilityof DTPA-extractable Fe was decreased when pH of the soilincreased In consent with this Imerb et al [80] and Waelet al [61] reported that extractable Fe decreased at pH levelsnear neutral or higher e application of lime and VCdecreased extractable Mn as compared with the control ismight be due to high CEC of organic fertilizer and its abilityto form chelate complexes with this nutrient Along withthis Angelova et al [64] reported that the application ofamendments decreased the extractable Mn concentration inthe soil which might be due to immobilization of Mn by theapplication of VC Extractable Zn was decreased signifi-cantly (Ple 0001) by the application of lime and VC and alsoin combination of all treatments is may be due to theincrement of soil pH and also the formation of insolubleform of Zn compound when it reacts with VC is inagreement with Walker et al [81] who pointed out that Znavailability is controlled by soil pH Angelova et al [64] alsoindicated that Zn can form insoluble compound precipitates
Table 6 Effects of treatments on exchangeable bases and effective cation exchange capacity
Treatment Rate Ex Ca Ex Mg Ex K Ex Na ECECcmolcmiddotkgminus1
CV () mdash 45 118 463 3 246lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testEx Ca exchangeable calcium Ex Mg exchangeable magnesium Ex K exchangeable potassium Ex Na exchangeable sodium ECEC effective cationexchange capacity chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9
during the mineralization of organic ameliorants e ex-tractable Cu was decreased by the application of amend-ments Especially VC supplements lead to lower content ofDTPA-extractable Cu is may be due to the trans-formation of OM in stable form that could link more Cu Inconcord to this Angelova et al [64] reported that enrich-ment of soil with OM could reduce the bioavailable Cu asa result of complexation of free ions of Cu
4 Conclusion
e study revealed that soils of the study area have limi-tations related to deficiency of major plant nutrient elementsand soil acidity As a result most of the soil propertiesmeasured responded positively to applications of lime VCand chemical P fertilizer either in combination or aloneisincubation experiment demonstrated that the application oflime VC and chemical P fertilizer could mitigate soil acidityand Al toxicity as well as improve soil fertility of acidic soilsof the study areae combined application of medium ratesof lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) and chemical P(40 kgmiddothaminus1) holds a lot of promise as an efficient alternativeto amend soil acidity and increase soil nutrient availabilityHowever the results need to be confirmed under field
conditions and the economic feasibility of application ofa particular combination needs to be quantified ereforefurther field work is recommended to verify this result
Conflicts of Interest
e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest
Acknowledgments
is work was supported by the Haramaya University re-search site (rare greenhouse) Haramaya University CentralLaboratory and Ethiopian Ministry of Education e au-thors acknowledge these institutions and staff members ofHaramayaUniversity Central Laboratory particularlyMr BaneKebede and staffmembers of greenhouse and the Nekemte SoilResearch Center for providing them the necessary support toconduct this study
References
[1] P Van Streaten Agro Geology the Use of Rocks for CropsEnviroquest Ltd Cambridge ON Canada 2007
Table 7 e effects of treatments on extractable micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) of the soil of the study area
Treatment Rate Fe Mn Zn Cumgmiddotkgminus1
Control 0 40a 36a 306a 365a
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 241c 31d 296bc 343b
4 166d 25h 241e 315d
6 143e 17k 223f 286h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 397a 36a 309a 366a
40 405a 36a 308a 365a
60 40a 36a 303ab 371a
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 307b 35b 299b 332c
5 298b 33c 290c 316d
75 298b 26g 278d 298ef
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 166d 24h 243e 314d
CV () mdash 314 103 123 092lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testchemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[2] S Kenyanjua M L Ireri S Wambua and S M NandwaldquoAcid soils in Kenya constraints and remedial optionsrdquo 2002KARI Technical Note No 11
[3] P O Kisinyo Constraints of soil acidity and nutrient depe-letion on maize (Zea mays L) production in Kenya PhDthesis Moi University Eldoret Kenya PhD thesis 2011
[4] P A Opala P O Kisinyo and R O Nyambati ldquoEffects ofTithonia diversifolia farmyard manure urea and phosphatefertilizer application methods on maize yields in westernKenyardquo Journal of Agriculture of Rural Develoment of Tropicsand Subtropics vol 116 no 1 pp 1ndash9 2015
[5] H Schlede Distribution of acid soils and liming materials inEthiopia Ethiopian Institute of Geological Surveys Ministryof Mines and Energy Addis Ababa Ethiopia 1989
[6] World Bank Staff Appraisal Report National Fertilizer SectorProject Ethiopia 1995 Report No 13722-ET
[7] W Haile and S Boke Mitigation of Soil Acidity and FertilityDecline Challenges for Sustainable Livelihood ImprovementResearch Findings from Southern Region of Ethiopia and ItsPolicy Implications Awassa Agricultural Research InstituteAwassa Ethiopia 2009
[8] M Abebe Ce Nature and Management of Acid Soils inEthiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2007
[9] V Viterello F Capadi and V Stefanuto ldquoRecent advances inAl and resentance in higher plantsrdquo Brazil Plant Physiologyvol 17 no 1 pp 129ndash143 2005
[10] E Ouma D Ligeyo T Matonyei et al ldquoEnhancing maizegrain yield in acid soils of Western Kenya using Al tolerantgermplasmrdquo Journal of Agricultural Science and Technologyvol 3 pp 33ndash46 2013
[11] C e H Calba C Zonkeng E M Ngonkeu andV O Adetimirin ldquoResponse of maize grain yield to changesin acid soil characterstics after soil amendmentrdquo Plant Soilvol 284 pp 45ndash57 2006
[12] M K Yao P K Angui S Konate et al ldquoEffects of land usetypes on soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics in mid-west Cote drsquoIvoirerdquo European Journal of Science and Researchvol 40 pp 211ndash222 2010
[13] N Z Lupwayi and I Haque ldquoPhosphorous a prerequisite forincreased productivity of forage and browsefree legumes inthe Ethiopian highlandsrdquo in Proceedings of the Second Con-ference of the Ethiopian Society of Soil Science Addis AbabaEthiopia September 1993
[14] S Boke ldquoSoil phosphorous fractions influenced by differentcropping system in Andosols and Nitisols in Kambata-Tenbaro and Wolaita Zones SNNPRS Ethiopiardquo AlemayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia MSc thesis 2004
[15] P O Kisinyo C O Othieno S O Gudu et al ldquoImmediateand residual effects of lime and phosphorus fertilizer on soilacidity and maize production in western Kenyardquo Experi-mental agriculture vol 50 no 1 pp 128ndash143 2014
[16] A Melese Y Markku and B Yitaferu ldquoEffects of lime woodash manure and mineral P fertilizer rates on acidity relatedchemical properties and growth and P uptake of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) on acid soil of Farta district North-western Highlands of Ethiopiardquo International Journal ofAgriculture and Crop Sciences vol 8 no 2 pp 256ndash269 2015
[17] D Mengesha and L Mekonnen ldquoIntegrated agronomic cropmanagements to improve teff productivity under terminaldroughtrdquo in Water Stress I Md M Rahman andH Hasegawa Eds pp 235ndash254 Intech Open ScienceLondon UK 2012
[18] N Q Arancon C A Edwards R Atiyeh and J D MetzgerldquoEffects of vermicompost produced from food waste on the
growth and yields of greenhouse peppersrdquo Bio-ResourcesTechnology vol 93 no 2 pp 139ndash144 2004
[19] J Dominguez ldquoState of the art and new perspectives onvermicomposting researchrdquo in Earthworm EcologyC A Edwardspp 401ndash424 CRC Press Boca Raton FL USA2nd edition 2004
[20] R M Azarmi T Giglou and R D Taleshmikail ldquoInfluence ofvermicompost on soil chemical and physical properties intomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) fieldrdquo African Journal ofBio-technology vol 7 pp 2397ndash2401 2008
[21] L Angin E L Aksakal T Oztas and A Hanay ldquoEffects ofmunicipal solid waste compost (MSWC) application oncertain physical properties of soils subjected to freeze-thawrdquoSoil Tillage Research vol 130 pp 58ndash61 2013
[22] J Lordan M Pascual and F Fonseca ldquoUse of rice husk toenhance peach tree performance in soil switch limitingphysical propertiesrdquo Soil Tillage and Research vol 129pp 19ndash22 2013
[23] R Abafita ldquoEvaluation of vermicompost on maize pro-ductivity and determine optimum rate for maize productionrdquoWorld Journal of Biology and Medical Sciences vol 3 no 1pp 9ndash22 2016
[24] M R Haj Seyed Hadi M T Darzi Z Ghandehari andG H Riazi ldquoEffects of vermicompost and amino acids on theflower yield and essential oil production from Matricariachamomilla L J of Medrdquo Plants Research vol 5 no 23pp 5611ndash5617 2011
[25] S Suthar ldquoEffect of vermicompost and inorganic fertilizer onwheat (Triticum aestivum) productionrdquo Nature Environ-mental Pollution Technology vol 5 pp 197ndash201 2006
[26] S I Glenda B Ismet K Skender and B Astrit ldquoe influenceof vermicompost on plant growth characteristics of cucumber(Cucumis sativus L) seedlings under saline conditionsrdquoJournal of Food Agriculture and Environmental vol 7pp 869ndash872 2009
[27] R K Sinha S Agarwal K Chaudhan and D Valani ldquoewonders of earthworms and its vermicomposting in farmproduction Charles Darwinrsquos friends of farmersrsquo with po-tential to replace destructive chemical fertilizers from agri-culturerdquo Agricultural Science vol 1 no 2 pp 76ndash94 2010
[28] A Mahajan R M Bhagat and R D Gupta ldquoIntegratednutrient management in sustainable rice-wheat croppingsystem for food security in Indiardquo SAARC Journal of Agri-culture vol 6 no 2 pp 29ndash32 2008
[29] R Singh and S K Agarwal ldquoGrowth and yield of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) as influenced by levels of farmyardmanure and nitrogenrdquo Indian Journal of Agronomy vol 46no 3 pp 462ndash467 2001
[30] G Angachew ldquoAmeliorating effects of organic and inorganicfertilizers on crop productivity and soil properties on reddish-brown soilsrdquo in Proceedings of the 10th Conference of theEthiopian Society of Soil Science pp 127ndash150 Addis AbabaEthiopia March 2009
[31] A F Gafar M Yassin D Ibrahim and S O Yagoob ldquoEffectof different (bio organic and inorganic) fertilizers on someyield components of rice (Oryza sativa L)rdquo Universal Journalof Agricultural Research vol 2 no 2 pp 67ndash70 2014
[32] A Chimdi H Gebrekidan K Kibret and A Tadesse ldquoEffectsof liming on acidity-related chemical properties of soils ofdifferent land use systems in Western Oromia EthiopiardquoWorld Journal of Agricultural Science vol 8 no 6 pp 560ndash567 2012
[33] A Kidanemariam ldquoSoil acidity characterization and effects ofliming and chemical fertilization on dry matter yield and
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
nutrient uptake of wheat (Triticum aestivum L) on soils ofTsegede District Northern Ethiopiardquo PhD thesis HaramayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia PhD thesis 2013
[34] B Teshome ldquoEffect of compost lime and P on selectedproperties of acidic soils of Asosardquo Journal of Biology Ag-riculture and Healthcare vol 7 no 5 pp 2224ndash3208 2017
[35] A Abraham Studied Rock Units of Western Ethiopia AddisAbaba EthiopiaGeological Survey Bulletin Note No 305 1990
[36] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) Edited by P Driessen J Deckers andF Nachtergaele Eds Food and Agricultural OrganizationsRome Italy 2001
[37] M AbebeNatures andManagement of Ethiopian Soils AlemayaUniversity of Agriculture Haramaya Ethiopia 1998
[38] FAO (Food andAgricultureOrganization of theUnitedNations)Soil Map of the World Revised Legend World Soil ResourceReport 60 FAO Rome Italy 1990
[39] NMA (National Meteorological Agency) Gida AyanaWeather Station Rainfall and Temperature Data NMA AsosaEthiopia 2015
[40] G H Bouyoucos ldquoA recalibration of the hydrometer formaking mechanical analysis of soilsrdquo Agricultural Journalsvol 43 pp 434ndash438 1951
[41] V C Jamison H H Weaver and I F Reed ldquoA hammer-driven soil core samplerrdquo Soil Science vol 69 pp 487ndash4961950
[42] T C Barauah and H P Barthakulh A Text Book of SoilAnalysis Vikas Publishing House New Delhi India 1997
[43] S H Chopra and J S Kanwar Analytical AgriculturalChemistry Kalyani Publisher Bengaluru India 1976
[44] D L Rowell Method and Applications Addison WesleyLongman Limited London UK 1994
[45] A Walkley and I A Black ldquoAn examination of the Degtjareffmethod for determining soil organic matter and proposedmodification of the titration methodrdquo Soil Science vol 37pp 29ndash38 1934
[46] J M Bremner and C S Mulvaney ldquoNitrogen-totalrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Part 2 Chemical and MicrobiologicalProperties A L Page R HMiller andD R Keeneypp 595ndash624American Society of AgronomyMadisonWI USA 2nd edition1982
[47] H R Bray and L T Kurtz ldquoDetermination of organic andavailable forms of phosphorus in soilsrdquo Soil Science vol 59no 1 pp 39ndash46 1945
[48] H D Chapman ldquoCation exchange capacity by ammoniumsaturationrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Agronomy Part II No9 CA Black Ed pp 891ndash901 American Society ofAgronomy Madison WI USA 1965
[49] M Pansu and J Gautheyrou Handbook of Soil AnalysisSpringer New York NY USA 2006
[50] S Sertsu and T Bekele ldquoProcedures for soil and plantanalysisrdquo National Soil Research Center Ethiopian Agricul-tural Research Organization (EARO) Addis Ababa EthiopiaTechnical paper 74 2000
[51] C Pisa andMWuta ldquoEvaluation of composting performanceof mixtures of chicken blood and maize stover in HarareZimbabwerdquo International Journal of Recycling of OrganicWaste in Agriculture vol 2 no 1 pp 1ndash11 2013
[52] P M Ndegwa and S A ompson ldquoIntegrating compostingand vermicomposting in the treatment and bioconversion ofsolidsrdquo Bioresource Technology vol 76 pp 107ndash112 2001
[53] J R Okalebo K W Guthua and P J Woomer LaboratoryMethods of Soil and Plant Analysis a Working Manual TSBF-CIAT and SACRED Africa Nairobi Kenya 2002
[54] A D Manson and V Katusic Potato Fertilization in Kwa-zulu-Natal Cedara Report NoNA9724 Cedara Reportsand Publications 1997
[55] M P W Farina and P Chanon ldquoA field comparison of limerequirement indices for maizerdquo Plant and Soil vol 134pp 127ndash135 1991
[56] SAS (Statistical Analysis System) SASSTAT Userrsquos GuideProprietary Software Version 92 SAS Inst Inc Cary NCUSA 2004
[57] J B JonesAgronomic Handbook Management of Crops Soilsand Ceir Fertility CRC Press LLC Boca Raton FL USA2003
[58] T Tadese ldquoSoil plant water fertilizer animal manure andcompost analysisrdquo International Livestock Research centerfor Africa Addis Ababa Ethiopia Working document No 131991
[59] B Clements and I McGowen Strategic Fertilizer Use onPastures NSW Agriculture Agnote Reg 457 Orange NSWAustralia 1994
[60] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) World Reference Base for Soil Resources AFramework for International Classification Correlation andCommunication World Soil Resources Reports No 103 2ndedition 2006
[61] M N Wael V R Leon C Sarina and B Oswald ldquoEffect ofvermicompost on soil and plant properties of coal spoil in theLusatian region (Eastern Germany)rdquo Karl-Liebknecht Strassevol 24-25 p 14476 2011
[62] K Asciutto M C Rivera E R Wright D Morisigue andM V Lopez ldquoEffect of vermicompost on the growth andhealth of Impatiens walleranardquo International Journal of Ex-perimental Botany vol 75 pp 115ndash123 2006
[63] P O Kisinyo S O Gudu C O Othieno et al ldquoEffects of limephosphorus and Rhizobia on Sesbania sesban performance ina Western Kenyan acid soilrdquo African Journal of AgriculturalResearch vol 7 no 18 pp 2800ndash2809 2012
[64] V R Angelova V I Akova N S Artinova and K I Ivanovldquoe effect of organic amendments on soil chemical char-acteristicsrdquo Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science vol 19no 5 pp 958ndash971 2013
[65] P A Opala J R Okalebo and C O Othieno ldquoEffects oforganic and inorganic materials on soil acidity and phos-phorus availability in a soil incubation studyrdquo InternationalScholarly Research Network Agronomy vol 2012 article597216 10 pages 2012
[66] A A Amba E B Agbo N Voncir andM O Oyawoye ldquoEffectof phosphorus fertilizer on some soil chemical properties andnitrogen fixation of legumes at Bauchirdquo Continental Journal ofAgricultural Science vol 5 no 1 pp 39ndash44 2011
[67] E O Adeleye L S Ayeni and S O Ojeniyi ldquoEffect of poultrymanure on soil physicochemical properties leaf nutrientcontents and yield of Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) on Alfisol inSouthwestern Nigeriardquo Journal of American Science vol 6no 10 pp 871ndash878 2010
[68] A Efthimiadou D Bilalis A Karkanis and B Froud-Wil-liams ldquoCombined organicinorganic fertilization enhance soilquality and increased yield photosynthesis and sustainabilityof sweet maize croprdquo Australian Journal of Crop Sciencevol 4 no 9 pp 722ndash729 2010
[69] D D Mary and S Sivagami ldquoEffect of individual andcombined application of bio-fertilisers vermicompost andinorganic fertilizers on soil enzymes and minerals during thepost harvesting stage of chillirdquo Research Journal of Agricultureand Environmental Management vol 3 pp 434ndash441 2014
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[70] M O Anetor and E A Akinrinde ldquoResponse of soybean[Glycine max (L) Merrill] to lime and phosphorus fertilizertreatments on an acidic Alfisol of Nigeriardquo Pakistan Journal ofNutrition vol 5 no 3 pp 286ndash293 2006
[71] P O Kisinyo ldquoMaize response to organic and inorganic soilamendments grown under tropical acidic soil of KenyardquoJournal of Agricultural Science and Food Technology vol 2no 3 pp 35ndash40 2016
[72] P A Opala J R Okalebo C O Othieno and P KisinyoldquoEffects of organic and inorganic phosphorus sources onmaize yields in acid soils of western Kenyardquo Nutrient Cyclingin Agroecosystems vol 86 pp 317ndash329 2010
[73] A Hassan A Mohamad A Abdu R M Idrus andN A Besar ldquoSoil properties under Orthosiphon stamineus(Benth) intercropped with Durio zibethinus (Murr) andtreated with various organic fertilizersrdquo in Proceedings of the19th World Congress of Soil Science Soil Solutions fora Changing World Brisbane Australia August 2010
[74] R Repsiene and R Skuodiene ldquoe influence of liming andorganic fertilization on the changes of some agrochemicalindicators and their relationship with crop weed incidencerdquoZemdirbyste Agriculture vol 97 no 4 pp 3ndash14 2010
[75] L Andric M Rastija T Teklic and V Kovacevic ldquoResponseof maize and soybeans to limingrdquo Turkish Journal of Agri-culture and Forestry vol 36 pp 415ndash420 2012
[76] L S Ayeni and M T Adetunji ldquoIntegrated application ofpoultry manure and mineral fertilizer on soil chemicalproperties nutrient uptake yields and growth components ofmaizerdquo Nature and Science vol 8 no 1 pp 60ndash67 2010
[77] O N Adeniyan A O Ojo O A Akinbode andJ A Adediran ldquoComparative study of different organicmanures and NPK fertilizer for improvement of soil chemicalproperties and dry matter yield of maize in two differentsoilsrdquo Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Managementvol 2 no 1 pp 9ndash13 2011
[78] D C Edmeades ldquoEffects of lime on effective cation exchangecapacity and exchangeable cations on a range of New Zealandsoilsrdquo New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research vol 25no 1 pp 27ndash33 2012
[79] C Pandey and S Shukla ldquoEffects of composted yard waste onwater movement in sandy soilrdquo Compost Science and Utili-zation vol 14 no 4 pp 252ndash259 2006
[80] R Imerb N Bamroongrugsa K Kawashima T Amano andS Kato ldquoUtilization of coal ash to improve acid soilrdquoSongklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology vol 26no 5 pp 697ndash708 2004
[81] D J Walker R Clemente A Roig and M P Bernal ldquoeeffects of soil amendments on heavy metal bioavailability intwo contaminated Mediterranean soilsrdquo Environmental Pol-lution vol 122 pp 303ndash312 2003
powder salicylic acid (C7H6O3) and H2O2 mixture [53]Total micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) were extractedusing concentrated H2SO4 Se powder C7H6O3 and H2O2mixture and their concentrations were determined from thewet digested samples by AAS [53]
e calcium carbonate equivalent (CCE) of the Guderlime was determined by dissolving the lime using excess ofstandard 05MmiddotHCl and followed by gentle boiling Afterfiltration the excess HCl was back titrated with standard01MmiddotNaOH solution From the amount of NaOH used toneutralize the excess acid of the blank and the filtrate theCCE value of the lime was calculated [50]
Lime requirement was determined by the acid saturationmethod to ameliorate the acidic soil of the study site for themaize crop e acid saturation method uses exchangeableacidity ECEC and permissible acid saturation percentage ofcrops to calculate the amount of lime to be applied Using theacid saturation method lime requirement is calculated asfollows [54]
LR kg middothaminus11113872 1113873 LRF [Ex acidity minus(ECEClowastPAS)] (3)
where LR lime requirement LRF lime requirementfactor (kgmiddotlimemiddothaminus1) to lower the Ex acidity by 1 cmol(3000 kg limehacmole) [55] for most Ethiopian soilsEx acidity exchangeable acidity (Al3+ +H+) PAS per-missible acid saturation and ECEC effective cation ex-change capacity (exchangeable acidity + exchangeable bases)
25 Statistical Analysis Analysis of variance was carried outon the effect of treatments on selected soil chemical propertiesusing SAS software [56] Duncanrsquos multiple range test wasemployed to test the significance difference between means oftreatments Simple Pearson correlation analysis was executedto determine the associations between various soil acidityparameters and different soil chemical properties
3 Results and Discussion
31 Initial Soil Properties and Vermicompost Compositione results of laboratory analysis of selected properties of thesoil used for the experiment are presented in Table 1 etextural class of the soil used for the incubation experimentis loam e bulk density of the soil was below the criticalvalue of bulk density (16 gcmminus3) for plant growth at whichroot penetration is likely to be severely restricted in a loamsoil [57] while the particle density is lower than the averageparticle density value for a mineral soil Due to the low bulkdensity value the total porosity of the soil was relativelyhigh e soil was strongly acidic [57] with relatively highcontent of exchangeable acidity and Al e percentage acidsaturation of the soil was 307e organic matter and totalnitrogen contents of the soil were in the range of low andmoderate respectively [58] while the available P contentwas in the low range [59] Similarly the mean soil ex-changeable Ca and K were low whereas exchangeable Mgwas within the range of medium [60] e effective CEC ofthe soils was also relatively low probably due to the dom-inance of low activity clay minerals in the highly weathered
soils of the study area As per rating suggested by Jones [57]the soil was high in DTPA-extractable Fe Mn and Zn andmedium in extractable Cu [57] In general the results of thesoil preanalysis clearly indicate that the soil has soil fertilityproblems that include deficiency of major plant nutrientsand soil acidity that limit successful production of crops inthe study area is calls for development of appropriatemanagement practices that enhance crop production ona sustainable basis
e lime used in this study had CCE value of 887Table 2 shows the nutrient contents of the vermicompostused for the experiment e nutrients are likely to be
Table 1 Selected physical and chemical properties of the exper-imental soil before incubation
Parameters ValueSand () 500Silt () 380Clay () 120Textural class LoamBD (gmiddotcmminus3) 130PD (gmiddotcmminus3) 228TP () 4300pH (H2O) 480Exchangeable acidity (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 244Exchangeable Al (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 203AS () 3070OM () 215Total N () 018Available P by Bray-II (mgmiddotkgminus1) 460Exchangeable Ca (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 351Exchangeable Mg (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 161Exchangeable K (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 027Exchangeable Na (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 011ECEC (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 794Fe (mgmiddotkgminus1) 3510Mn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 3670Zn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 296Cu (mgmiddotkgminus1) 273BD bulk density PD particle density TP total porosity AS acid satu-ration OM organic matter total N total nitrogen ECEC effective cationexchange capacity
Table 2 Chemical characterization of vermicompost
Vermicompost ValuepH (H2O) (1 10) 75EC (dSmminus1) (1 10) 52Total OC () 143Total N () 195Total P (gmiddotkgminus1) 53Ca (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 363Mg (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 198K (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 277Na (cmolcmiddotkgminus1) 142Fe (mgmiddotkgminus1) 2190Mn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 3970Zn (mgmiddotkgminus1) 1520Cu (mgmiddotkgminus1) 950EC electrical conductivity total OC total organic carbon total N totalnitrogen total P total phosphorus
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 5
derived from decomposition of the organic matter by theactivities of microorganisms e contents of the VC coulddecrease soil acidity and enhance soil fertility in the stronglyacidic soils of the study area is is manifested by the highpH of the compost In line with the findings of this studyWael et al [61] stated that VC was used to increase the pH inacidic soils and reduce Al and Mn toxicity because of itsalkalinity Arancon et al [18] and Asciutto et al [62] alsoreported that VC contains most nutrients such as ex-changeable Ca phosphates and soluble K in plant availableforms
32 Effects of Treatments on pH Exchangeable Acidity and AlandAcid Saturation e lime at each respective applicationlevel alone or in combination with VC had significant(Ple 0001) effects on soil pH exchangeable acidity and Aland acid saturation (AS) (Table 3) e highest lime rate (6tonsmiddotCaCO3middothaminus1) significantly (Ple 0001) increased the pHfrom 480 to 601 reduced both the exchangeable acidity andAl from 24 to 017 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 and 170 to 033 cmolcmiddotkgminus1respectively and reduced acid saturation from 30 to 162
is might be because lime contains Ca2+ cation to exchangeandor replace H+ ion on the exchange sites and anions suchas CO3
2- to neutralize the H+ ion released from the exchangesites and hydrolyzing Al species to the soil solution Inconsent with the results of this study Kisinyo et al [63] andKisinyo et al [15] reported that application of lime to acidsoils increased Ca2+ andor Mg2+ ions and reduced Al3+ H+Mn2+ and Fe2+ ions in the soil solution
Vermicompost at each respective application levels hadalso significant (Ple 0001) effects on the soil pH ex-changeable acidity and Al and AS (Table 3) e rise in soilpH due to application of VC might be attributed to its highcontent of basic cations and pH which could reduce soilacidity and the contents of exchangeable acidity and Althrough replacing the acidic cations from the exchange sitesis is in agreement with the findings of Angelova et al [64]who pointed out that the direction of the change in soil pH asa result of VC application reflected the initial pH of VC
Generally the combination of all lime-VC treatmentssignificantly (Ple 0001) increased soil pH and decreasedexchangeable acidity and Al relative to the control (Table 3)Combination of the highest level of VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) with
Table 3 Effects of the treatments on pH exchangeable acidity and exchangeable Al and percent acid saturation of soil in the incubationstudy
Treatment Rate pH Ex Ac Ex Al AScmolcmiddotkgminus1
CV () mdash 203 251 255 514lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testEx Ac exchangeable acidity Ex Al exchangeable aluminium AS acid saturation chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient ofvariation
6 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) increased pH from 480 to 605 and decreasedexchangeable acidity and Al from 238 to 017 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 and045 to 009 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 respectively (Table 3) When lime ata rate of 4 tonsmiddothaminus1 was applied to the soil in combination withVC at the rate of 5 and 75 tonsmiddothaminus1 the soil pH increased to theoptimum pH for many crops e correlation analysis alsoindicated that the pH of the soils was correlated with the ex-changeable acidity (r minus087lowastlowast Ple 001) exchangeable Al(r minus087lowastlowast Ple 001) and AS (r minus088lowastlowast Ple 001) (Ta-ble 4) is is in agreement with Opala et al [65] who indicatedthat the combination of organic fertilizers having liming effectand inorganic fertilizers decreased exchangeable acidity which inturn increased soil pH
e chemical P fertilizer had no significant (Ple 0001)effect on soil pH exchangeable acidity and Al and AS whenapplied alone over the control (Table 3) Along with thisKisinyo et al [63] reported that application of the P fertilizeralone to acidic soils did not increase the soil pH neitherreduced soil exchangeable acidity
33 Effects of Treatments on Organic Matter Total Nitrogenand Available Phosphorus Compared to the control all theother treatments showed significant (Ple 0001) increase insoil OM except all levels of chemical P and the combination oflime (4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1) with all levels of the chemical Pfertilizer (Table 5) e highest content of OM (41) wasobtained when the soil was treated by the combination of lime(4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1) with highest level of VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1)(Table 5) Lime and VC application either individually or incombination increased soil pH and OM content which inturn enhances the microbial population An increase in pHmay decrease the stress on soil microbes and microbial ac-tivity and thus increases soil OM is is supported by thecorrelation in which pH was positively and significantly(r 055lowastlowast Ple 001) correlated with OM (Table 4) Inagreement with this Amba et al [66] indicated that soil OCincrement after the application of lime and manure wasassociated with the general improvement of soil conditions
e application of treatments significantly (Ple 0001)increased soil total N except the three rates of the chemical Pfertilizer alone (Table 5)e application of OM in the form ofVC is expected to increase theOM and TN contents of the soil
is is also evidenced by the total by the positive and sig-nificant correlation between total N (r 089lowastlowast Ple 001)and OM (Table 4)is is in agreement with Adeleye et al [67]and Efthimiadou et al [68] who stated that soil total N in-creases when biofertilizers are solely applied due to the ad-dition of OMMary and Sivagami [69] also reported that VC isrich in total Ne highest increment of total N (029mgmiddotkgminus1)was obtained when lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) was applied in com-bination with VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) (Table 5) Similar to theresults of the current study Biruk et al [34] reported increasein total N in acidic soils treated with lime and compost
e available P of the soil varied from 45 to 83mgmiddotkgminus1after incubation (Table 5) e highest available P was ob-tained when chemical P (60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1) lime (2 tonsmiddothaminus1)and VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) were applied in combinationerefore the application of the treatments at these ratessignificantly (Ple 00001) increased available P by 45 overthe control (Table 5) is might be due to the significant(Ple 0001) increase in soil pH due to the effect of lime andVC which in turn reduced P fixation is is also supportedby the results of the simple correlation analysis which in-dicated that the available P of the soil was positively andsignificantly correlated to the pH (r 069lowastlowast Ple 001)(Table 4)is is in harmony with the findings of Anetor andAkinrinde [70] who indicated that increase in soil pH due tolime application reduced P fixation Similarly Kisinyo et al[63] reported that the application of lime and chemical Pfertilizer in sole or combination had significantly positiveeffect on soil pH and available P in acid soils Application ofthe P fertilizer increased available P due to increase of P insoil Similar increase in soil available P in tropical soils hasbeen reported by Kisinyo et al [15] and Opala et al [4]Combined application of chemical P and VC increased soilavailable P more than when either of them were appliedalone is was because the organic material reduced soil Psorption making both the soil native P and the applied Pfertilizer available for plant uptake Similar results werereported by Kisinyo [71] and Opala et al [72]
34 Effects of Treatments on Exchangeable Bases andEffective Cation Exchange Capacity Soil exchangeable Cawas significantly (Ple 0001) increased by the application of
Table 4 Pearson correlation coefficients r among selected soil chemical properties
pH2O Ex Ac Ex Al AS OM TN BP Ca Mg K NaEx Ac minus087lowastlowastEx Al minus087lowastlowast 093lowastlowastAS minus088lowastlowast 092lowastlowast 087lowastlowastOM 055lowastlowast minus026 minus039lowast minus050lowastlowastTN 075lowastlowast minus051lowastlowast minus063lowastlowast minus067lowastlowast 089lowastlowastBP 069lowastlowast minus056lowastlowast minus053lowastlowast minus066lowastlowast 057lowastlowast 065lowastlowastCa 072lowastlowast minus057lowastlowast minus059lowastlowast minus081lowastlowast 085lowastlowast 083lowastlowast 065lowastlowastMg 078lowastlowast 078lowastlowast minus071lowastlowast minus080lowastlowast 081lowastlowast 085lowastlowast 059lowastlowast 091lowastlowastK 084lowastlowast minus076lowastlowast minus081lowastlowast minus088lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 082lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 084lowastlowast 085lowastlowastNa 079lowastlowast minus075lowastlowast minus075lowastlowast minus089lowastlowast 062lowastlowast 074lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 081lowastlowast 076lowastlowast 091lowastlowastFe minus079lowastlowast 086lowastlowast 083lowastlowast 089lowastlowast minus031lowast minus054lowastlowast minus058lowastlowast minus064lowastlowast minus065lowastlowast minus065lowastlowast minus085lowastlowastlowast lowastlowastSignificant at 005 and 001 probability levels respectively Ex Ac exchangeable acidity Ex Al exchangeable aluminium AS acid saturation OM organicmatter TN total nitrogen BP Bray-II P
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 7
all treatments except the application of chemical P alone(Table 6) e highest (77 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) and lowest(35 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) soil exchangeable Ca was obtained when thesoil was treated by VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) plus lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)and chemical P (40kgmiddothaminus1) respectively relative to the control(Table 6) Furthermore lime and VC when applied separatelyincreased soil exchangeable Ca over the control (Table 6) eincrease in exchangeable Ca due to the combined use of limeand VC could be associated with the release of Ca2+ from theapplied lime through its dissolution and vermicompost whichreplaces the acidic cations from the exchange siteerefore themost effective and significant increase was observed when VCwas combined with lime plus the chemical P fertilizeris is inagreement with the previous works of Hassen et al [73] andAdeleye et al [67] who reported increase in exchangeable Cafollowing combined application of lime and organic fertilizers
Soil exchangeable Mg was also significantly (Ple 0001)increased as a result of the treatments applied except thechemical P fertilizer (Table 6) Accordingly the highestexchangeable Mg (344 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) was recorded from in theapplication of lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) with VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1)(Table 6) e increased soil exchangeable Mg as a result oflime and VC application might be attributed to increase in
soil pH which in turn may have increased Mg availability inthe soil When VC was combined with lime and chemical Pfertilizer soil exchangeable Mg was increased and this wasattributed to addition of nutrients to the soil from the VC Inaddition the increase of soil pH by VC reduces Al3+ and H+
content in soil exchange sites and then increased Mgavailability e results are in agreement with those ofRepsiene and Skuodiene [74] and Andric et al [75] whoreported that soil exchangeable bases increased when acidicsoil was amended by lime and manure
e increase in soil exchangeable K and Na due toapplication of VC alone or in combination with the P fer-tilizer plus lime could be due to added K and Na from VCe VC used in the current study had 277 and142 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 of K and Na contents respectively whichmight have added significant amounts of these nutrients tothe soil (Table 2) is is supported by the report of Ayeniand Adetunji [76] Adeleye et al [67] and Adeniyan et al[77] who indicated that soil exchangeable bases increasewhen the biofertilizer was applied alone or in combinationwith the lime and P fertilizer
e effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) of the soilwas significantly (Ple 0001) affected by all treatments except
Table 5 Effects of treatments on organic matter total nitrogen and available phosphorus of the soil after incubation
Treatment Rate OM TN Bray mgmiddotkgminus1 II PControl 0 213l 020ij 45l
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 217jkl 021hi 56k
4 221jk 021hi 63gh
6 228i 023gh 62h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 217jkl 020ij 57jk
40 214l 019j 60i
60 216kl 021hi 62h
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 272h 021hi 58ij
50 320f 023gh 60i
75 399b 027abc 63gh
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 224ij 022hi 65f
CV () mdash 1 364 141lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testOM organic matter TN total nitrogen CN carbon to nitrogen ratio chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
8 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
the chemical P fertilizer when applied at the rate of 40 and60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1 (Table 6) is increase was due to improvedsoil conditions such as soil pH increased soil Ca Mg K andNa by VC and lime and increase of negative charges on thesurfaces of the soil colloids following the rise in pH eECEC increment might also be caused by deprotonation ofpH-dependent charge sites arising from VC is is inagreement with the findings of Edmeades [78] who statedthat ECEC increased with increasing pH of soils e ECECwas significantly increased with the increase of VC due to thegreater contents of exchangeable bases of VC is is sup-ported by Pandey and Shukla [79] who indicated that ap-plication of VC changed ECEC of the soil due to the changeof negative surfaces of the soil colloids
35 Effects of Treatments on Extractable Micronutrients (FeMn Zn and Cu) e extractable micronutrients weresignificantly (Ple 0001) affected by treatments (Table 7)Under almost all the treatments all extractable micro-nutrients decreased relative to the control (Table 7) eextractability of Fe Mn Zn and Cu tends to decrease as soilpH increased e exact mechanisms responsible for
reducing availability differ for each nutrient but can includeformation of low solubility compounds greater retention bysoil colloids when lime and VC are applied
e decrease in extractable Fe may be due to the changein pH caused by the amendments because the bioavailabilityof DTPA-extractable Fe was decreased when pH of the soilincreased In consent with this Imerb et al [80] and Waelet al [61] reported that extractable Fe decreased at pH levelsnear neutral or higher e application of lime and VCdecreased extractable Mn as compared with the control ismight be due to high CEC of organic fertilizer and its abilityto form chelate complexes with this nutrient Along withthis Angelova et al [64] reported that the application ofamendments decreased the extractable Mn concentration inthe soil which might be due to immobilization of Mn by theapplication of VC Extractable Zn was decreased signifi-cantly (Ple 0001) by the application of lime and VC and alsoin combination of all treatments is may be due to theincrement of soil pH and also the formation of insolubleform of Zn compound when it reacts with VC is inagreement with Walker et al [81] who pointed out that Znavailability is controlled by soil pH Angelova et al [64] alsoindicated that Zn can form insoluble compound precipitates
Table 6 Effects of treatments on exchangeable bases and effective cation exchange capacity
Treatment Rate Ex Ca Ex Mg Ex K Ex Na ECECcmolcmiddotkgminus1
CV () mdash 45 118 463 3 246lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testEx Ca exchangeable calcium Ex Mg exchangeable magnesium Ex K exchangeable potassium Ex Na exchangeable sodium ECEC effective cationexchange capacity chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9
during the mineralization of organic ameliorants e ex-tractable Cu was decreased by the application of amend-ments Especially VC supplements lead to lower content ofDTPA-extractable Cu is may be due to the trans-formation of OM in stable form that could link more Cu Inconcord to this Angelova et al [64] reported that enrich-ment of soil with OM could reduce the bioavailable Cu asa result of complexation of free ions of Cu
4 Conclusion
e study revealed that soils of the study area have limi-tations related to deficiency of major plant nutrient elementsand soil acidity As a result most of the soil propertiesmeasured responded positively to applications of lime VCand chemical P fertilizer either in combination or aloneisincubation experiment demonstrated that the application oflime VC and chemical P fertilizer could mitigate soil acidityand Al toxicity as well as improve soil fertility of acidic soilsof the study areae combined application of medium ratesof lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) and chemical P(40 kgmiddothaminus1) holds a lot of promise as an efficient alternativeto amend soil acidity and increase soil nutrient availabilityHowever the results need to be confirmed under field
conditions and the economic feasibility of application ofa particular combination needs to be quantified ereforefurther field work is recommended to verify this result
Conflicts of Interest
e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest
Acknowledgments
is work was supported by the Haramaya University re-search site (rare greenhouse) Haramaya University CentralLaboratory and Ethiopian Ministry of Education e au-thors acknowledge these institutions and staff members ofHaramayaUniversity Central Laboratory particularlyMr BaneKebede and staffmembers of greenhouse and the Nekemte SoilResearch Center for providing them the necessary support toconduct this study
References
[1] P Van Streaten Agro Geology the Use of Rocks for CropsEnviroquest Ltd Cambridge ON Canada 2007
Table 7 e effects of treatments on extractable micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) of the soil of the study area
Treatment Rate Fe Mn Zn Cumgmiddotkgminus1
Control 0 40a 36a 306a 365a
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 241c 31d 296bc 343b
4 166d 25h 241e 315d
6 143e 17k 223f 286h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 397a 36a 309a 366a
40 405a 36a 308a 365a
60 40a 36a 303ab 371a
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 307b 35b 299b 332c
5 298b 33c 290c 316d
75 298b 26g 278d 298ef
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 166d 24h 243e 314d
CV () mdash 314 103 123 092lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testchemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[2] S Kenyanjua M L Ireri S Wambua and S M NandwaldquoAcid soils in Kenya constraints and remedial optionsrdquo 2002KARI Technical Note No 11
[3] P O Kisinyo Constraints of soil acidity and nutrient depe-letion on maize (Zea mays L) production in Kenya PhDthesis Moi University Eldoret Kenya PhD thesis 2011
[4] P A Opala P O Kisinyo and R O Nyambati ldquoEffects ofTithonia diversifolia farmyard manure urea and phosphatefertilizer application methods on maize yields in westernKenyardquo Journal of Agriculture of Rural Develoment of Tropicsand Subtropics vol 116 no 1 pp 1ndash9 2015
[5] H Schlede Distribution of acid soils and liming materials inEthiopia Ethiopian Institute of Geological Surveys Ministryof Mines and Energy Addis Ababa Ethiopia 1989
[6] World Bank Staff Appraisal Report National Fertilizer SectorProject Ethiopia 1995 Report No 13722-ET
[7] W Haile and S Boke Mitigation of Soil Acidity and FertilityDecline Challenges for Sustainable Livelihood ImprovementResearch Findings from Southern Region of Ethiopia and ItsPolicy Implications Awassa Agricultural Research InstituteAwassa Ethiopia 2009
[8] M Abebe Ce Nature and Management of Acid Soils inEthiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2007
[9] V Viterello F Capadi and V Stefanuto ldquoRecent advances inAl and resentance in higher plantsrdquo Brazil Plant Physiologyvol 17 no 1 pp 129ndash143 2005
[10] E Ouma D Ligeyo T Matonyei et al ldquoEnhancing maizegrain yield in acid soils of Western Kenya using Al tolerantgermplasmrdquo Journal of Agricultural Science and Technologyvol 3 pp 33ndash46 2013
[11] C e H Calba C Zonkeng E M Ngonkeu andV O Adetimirin ldquoResponse of maize grain yield to changesin acid soil characterstics after soil amendmentrdquo Plant Soilvol 284 pp 45ndash57 2006
[12] M K Yao P K Angui S Konate et al ldquoEffects of land usetypes on soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics in mid-west Cote drsquoIvoirerdquo European Journal of Science and Researchvol 40 pp 211ndash222 2010
[13] N Z Lupwayi and I Haque ldquoPhosphorous a prerequisite forincreased productivity of forage and browsefree legumes inthe Ethiopian highlandsrdquo in Proceedings of the Second Con-ference of the Ethiopian Society of Soil Science Addis AbabaEthiopia September 1993
[14] S Boke ldquoSoil phosphorous fractions influenced by differentcropping system in Andosols and Nitisols in Kambata-Tenbaro and Wolaita Zones SNNPRS Ethiopiardquo AlemayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia MSc thesis 2004
[15] P O Kisinyo C O Othieno S O Gudu et al ldquoImmediateand residual effects of lime and phosphorus fertilizer on soilacidity and maize production in western Kenyardquo Experi-mental agriculture vol 50 no 1 pp 128ndash143 2014
[16] A Melese Y Markku and B Yitaferu ldquoEffects of lime woodash manure and mineral P fertilizer rates on acidity relatedchemical properties and growth and P uptake of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) on acid soil of Farta district North-western Highlands of Ethiopiardquo International Journal ofAgriculture and Crop Sciences vol 8 no 2 pp 256ndash269 2015
[17] D Mengesha and L Mekonnen ldquoIntegrated agronomic cropmanagements to improve teff productivity under terminaldroughtrdquo in Water Stress I Md M Rahman andH Hasegawa Eds pp 235ndash254 Intech Open ScienceLondon UK 2012
[18] N Q Arancon C A Edwards R Atiyeh and J D MetzgerldquoEffects of vermicompost produced from food waste on the
growth and yields of greenhouse peppersrdquo Bio-ResourcesTechnology vol 93 no 2 pp 139ndash144 2004
[19] J Dominguez ldquoState of the art and new perspectives onvermicomposting researchrdquo in Earthworm EcologyC A Edwardspp 401ndash424 CRC Press Boca Raton FL USA2nd edition 2004
[20] R M Azarmi T Giglou and R D Taleshmikail ldquoInfluence ofvermicompost on soil chemical and physical properties intomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) fieldrdquo African Journal ofBio-technology vol 7 pp 2397ndash2401 2008
[21] L Angin E L Aksakal T Oztas and A Hanay ldquoEffects ofmunicipal solid waste compost (MSWC) application oncertain physical properties of soils subjected to freeze-thawrdquoSoil Tillage Research vol 130 pp 58ndash61 2013
[22] J Lordan M Pascual and F Fonseca ldquoUse of rice husk toenhance peach tree performance in soil switch limitingphysical propertiesrdquo Soil Tillage and Research vol 129pp 19ndash22 2013
[23] R Abafita ldquoEvaluation of vermicompost on maize pro-ductivity and determine optimum rate for maize productionrdquoWorld Journal of Biology and Medical Sciences vol 3 no 1pp 9ndash22 2016
[24] M R Haj Seyed Hadi M T Darzi Z Ghandehari andG H Riazi ldquoEffects of vermicompost and amino acids on theflower yield and essential oil production from Matricariachamomilla L J of Medrdquo Plants Research vol 5 no 23pp 5611ndash5617 2011
[25] S Suthar ldquoEffect of vermicompost and inorganic fertilizer onwheat (Triticum aestivum) productionrdquo Nature Environ-mental Pollution Technology vol 5 pp 197ndash201 2006
[26] S I Glenda B Ismet K Skender and B Astrit ldquoe influenceof vermicompost on plant growth characteristics of cucumber(Cucumis sativus L) seedlings under saline conditionsrdquoJournal of Food Agriculture and Environmental vol 7pp 869ndash872 2009
[27] R K Sinha S Agarwal K Chaudhan and D Valani ldquoewonders of earthworms and its vermicomposting in farmproduction Charles Darwinrsquos friends of farmersrsquo with po-tential to replace destructive chemical fertilizers from agri-culturerdquo Agricultural Science vol 1 no 2 pp 76ndash94 2010
[28] A Mahajan R M Bhagat and R D Gupta ldquoIntegratednutrient management in sustainable rice-wheat croppingsystem for food security in Indiardquo SAARC Journal of Agri-culture vol 6 no 2 pp 29ndash32 2008
[29] R Singh and S K Agarwal ldquoGrowth and yield of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) as influenced by levels of farmyardmanure and nitrogenrdquo Indian Journal of Agronomy vol 46no 3 pp 462ndash467 2001
[30] G Angachew ldquoAmeliorating effects of organic and inorganicfertilizers on crop productivity and soil properties on reddish-brown soilsrdquo in Proceedings of the 10th Conference of theEthiopian Society of Soil Science pp 127ndash150 Addis AbabaEthiopia March 2009
[31] A F Gafar M Yassin D Ibrahim and S O Yagoob ldquoEffectof different (bio organic and inorganic) fertilizers on someyield components of rice (Oryza sativa L)rdquo Universal Journalof Agricultural Research vol 2 no 2 pp 67ndash70 2014
[32] A Chimdi H Gebrekidan K Kibret and A Tadesse ldquoEffectsof liming on acidity-related chemical properties of soils ofdifferent land use systems in Western Oromia EthiopiardquoWorld Journal of Agricultural Science vol 8 no 6 pp 560ndash567 2012
[33] A Kidanemariam ldquoSoil acidity characterization and effects ofliming and chemical fertilization on dry matter yield and
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
nutrient uptake of wheat (Triticum aestivum L) on soils ofTsegede District Northern Ethiopiardquo PhD thesis HaramayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia PhD thesis 2013
[34] B Teshome ldquoEffect of compost lime and P on selectedproperties of acidic soils of Asosardquo Journal of Biology Ag-riculture and Healthcare vol 7 no 5 pp 2224ndash3208 2017
[35] A Abraham Studied Rock Units of Western Ethiopia AddisAbaba EthiopiaGeological Survey Bulletin Note No 305 1990
[36] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) Edited by P Driessen J Deckers andF Nachtergaele Eds Food and Agricultural OrganizationsRome Italy 2001
[37] M AbebeNatures andManagement of Ethiopian Soils AlemayaUniversity of Agriculture Haramaya Ethiopia 1998
[38] FAO (Food andAgricultureOrganization of theUnitedNations)Soil Map of the World Revised Legend World Soil ResourceReport 60 FAO Rome Italy 1990
[39] NMA (National Meteorological Agency) Gida AyanaWeather Station Rainfall and Temperature Data NMA AsosaEthiopia 2015
[40] G H Bouyoucos ldquoA recalibration of the hydrometer formaking mechanical analysis of soilsrdquo Agricultural Journalsvol 43 pp 434ndash438 1951
[41] V C Jamison H H Weaver and I F Reed ldquoA hammer-driven soil core samplerrdquo Soil Science vol 69 pp 487ndash4961950
[42] T C Barauah and H P Barthakulh A Text Book of SoilAnalysis Vikas Publishing House New Delhi India 1997
[43] S H Chopra and J S Kanwar Analytical AgriculturalChemistry Kalyani Publisher Bengaluru India 1976
[44] D L Rowell Method and Applications Addison WesleyLongman Limited London UK 1994
[45] A Walkley and I A Black ldquoAn examination of the Degtjareffmethod for determining soil organic matter and proposedmodification of the titration methodrdquo Soil Science vol 37pp 29ndash38 1934
[46] J M Bremner and C S Mulvaney ldquoNitrogen-totalrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Part 2 Chemical and MicrobiologicalProperties A L Page R HMiller andD R Keeneypp 595ndash624American Society of AgronomyMadisonWI USA 2nd edition1982
[47] H R Bray and L T Kurtz ldquoDetermination of organic andavailable forms of phosphorus in soilsrdquo Soil Science vol 59no 1 pp 39ndash46 1945
[48] H D Chapman ldquoCation exchange capacity by ammoniumsaturationrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Agronomy Part II No9 CA Black Ed pp 891ndash901 American Society ofAgronomy Madison WI USA 1965
[49] M Pansu and J Gautheyrou Handbook of Soil AnalysisSpringer New York NY USA 2006
[50] S Sertsu and T Bekele ldquoProcedures for soil and plantanalysisrdquo National Soil Research Center Ethiopian Agricul-tural Research Organization (EARO) Addis Ababa EthiopiaTechnical paper 74 2000
[51] C Pisa andMWuta ldquoEvaluation of composting performanceof mixtures of chicken blood and maize stover in HarareZimbabwerdquo International Journal of Recycling of OrganicWaste in Agriculture vol 2 no 1 pp 1ndash11 2013
[52] P M Ndegwa and S A ompson ldquoIntegrating compostingand vermicomposting in the treatment and bioconversion ofsolidsrdquo Bioresource Technology vol 76 pp 107ndash112 2001
[53] J R Okalebo K W Guthua and P J Woomer LaboratoryMethods of Soil and Plant Analysis a Working Manual TSBF-CIAT and SACRED Africa Nairobi Kenya 2002
[54] A D Manson and V Katusic Potato Fertilization in Kwa-zulu-Natal Cedara Report NoNA9724 Cedara Reportsand Publications 1997
[55] M P W Farina and P Chanon ldquoA field comparison of limerequirement indices for maizerdquo Plant and Soil vol 134pp 127ndash135 1991
[56] SAS (Statistical Analysis System) SASSTAT Userrsquos GuideProprietary Software Version 92 SAS Inst Inc Cary NCUSA 2004
[57] J B JonesAgronomic Handbook Management of Crops Soilsand Ceir Fertility CRC Press LLC Boca Raton FL USA2003
[58] T Tadese ldquoSoil plant water fertilizer animal manure andcompost analysisrdquo International Livestock Research centerfor Africa Addis Ababa Ethiopia Working document No 131991
[59] B Clements and I McGowen Strategic Fertilizer Use onPastures NSW Agriculture Agnote Reg 457 Orange NSWAustralia 1994
[60] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) World Reference Base for Soil Resources AFramework for International Classification Correlation andCommunication World Soil Resources Reports No 103 2ndedition 2006
[61] M N Wael V R Leon C Sarina and B Oswald ldquoEffect ofvermicompost on soil and plant properties of coal spoil in theLusatian region (Eastern Germany)rdquo Karl-Liebknecht Strassevol 24-25 p 14476 2011
[62] K Asciutto M C Rivera E R Wright D Morisigue andM V Lopez ldquoEffect of vermicompost on the growth andhealth of Impatiens walleranardquo International Journal of Ex-perimental Botany vol 75 pp 115ndash123 2006
[63] P O Kisinyo S O Gudu C O Othieno et al ldquoEffects of limephosphorus and Rhizobia on Sesbania sesban performance ina Western Kenyan acid soilrdquo African Journal of AgriculturalResearch vol 7 no 18 pp 2800ndash2809 2012
[64] V R Angelova V I Akova N S Artinova and K I Ivanovldquoe effect of organic amendments on soil chemical char-acteristicsrdquo Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science vol 19no 5 pp 958ndash971 2013
[65] P A Opala J R Okalebo and C O Othieno ldquoEffects oforganic and inorganic materials on soil acidity and phos-phorus availability in a soil incubation studyrdquo InternationalScholarly Research Network Agronomy vol 2012 article597216 10 pages 2012
[66] A A Amba E B Agbo N Voncir andM O Oyawoye ldquoEffectof phosphorus fertilizer on some soil chemical properties andnitrogen fixation of legumes at Bauchirdquo Continental Journal ofAgricultural Science vol 5 no 1 pp 39ndash44 2011
[67] E O Adeleye L S Ayeni and S O Ojeniyi ldquoEffect of poultrymanure on soil physicochemical properties leaf nutrientcontents and yield of Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) on Alfisol inSouthwestern Nigeriardquo Journal of American Science vol 6no 10 pp 871ndash878 2010
[68] A Efthimiadou D Bilalis A Karkanis and B Froud-Wil-liams ldquoCombined organicinorganic fertilization enhance soilquality and increased yield photosynthesis and sustainabilityof sweet maize croprdquo Australian Journal of Crop Sciencevol 4 no 9 pp 722ndash729 2010
[69] D D Mary and S Sivagami ldquoEffect of individual andcombined application of bio-fertilisers vermicompost andinorganic fertilizers on soil enzymes and minerals during thepost harvesting stage of chillirdquo Research Journal of Agricultureand Environmental Management vol 3 pp 434ndash441 2014
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[70] M O Anetor and E A Akinrinde ldquoResponse of soybean[Glycine max (L) Merrill] to lime and phosphorus fertilizertreatments on an acidic Alfisol of Nigeriardquo Pakistan Journal ofNutrition vol 5 no 3 pp 286ndash293 2006
[71] P O Kisinyo ldquoMaize response to organic and inorganic soilamendments grown under tropical acidic soil of KenyardquoJournal of Agricultural Science and Food Technology vol 2no 3 pp 35ndash40 2016
[72] P A Opala J R Okalebo C O Othieno and P KisinyoldquoEffects of organic and inorganic phosphorus sources onmaize yields in acid soils of western Kenyardquo Nutrient Cyclingin Agroecosystems vol 86 pp 317ndash329 2010
[73] A Hassan A Mohamad A Abdu R M Idrus andN A Besar ldquoSoil properties under Orthosiphon stamineus(Benth) intercropped with Durio zibethinus (Murr) andtreated with various organic fertilizersrdquo in Proceedings of the19th World Congress of Soil Science Soil Solutions fora Changing World Brisbane Australia August 2010
[74] R Repsiene and R Skuodiene ldquoe influence of liming andorganic fertilization on the changes of some agrochemicalindicators and their relationship with crop weed incidencerdquoZemdirbyste Agriculture vol 97 no 4 pp 3ndash14 2010
[75] L Andric M Rastija T Teklic and V Kovacevic ldquoResponseof maize and soybeans to limingrdquo Turkish Journal of Agri-culture and Forestry vol 36 pp 415ndash420 2012
[76] L S Ayeni and M T Adetunji ldquoIntegrated application ofpoultry manure and mineral fertilizer on soil chemicalproperties nutrient uptake yields and growth components ofmaizerdquo Nature and Science vol 8 no 1 pp 60ndash67 2010
[77] O N Adeniyan A O Ojo O A Akinbode andJ A Adediran ldquoComparative study of different organicmanures and NPK fertilizer for improvement of soil chemicalproperties and dry matter yield of maize in two differentsoilsrdquo Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Managementvol 2 no 1 pp 9ndash13 2011
[78] D C Edmeades ldquoEffects of lime on effective cation exchangecapacity and exchangeable cations on a range of New Zealandsoilsrdquo New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research vol 25no 1 pp 27ndash33 2012
[79] C Pandey and S Shukla ldquoEffects of composted yard waste onwater movement in sandy soilrdquo Compost Science and Utili-zation vol 14 no 4 pp 252ndash259 2006
[80] R Imerb N Bamroongrugsa K Kawashima T Amano andS Kato ldquoUtilization of coal ash to improve acid soilrdquoSongklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology vol 26no 5 pp 697ndash708 2004
[81] D J Walker R Clemente A Roig and M P Bernal ldquoeeffects of soil amendments on heavy metal bioavailability intwo contaminated Mediterranean soilsrdquo Environmental Pol-lution vol 122 pp 303ndash312 2003
derived from decomposition of the organic matter by theactivities of microorganisms e contents of the VC coulddecrease soil acidity and enhance soil fertility in the stronglyacidic soils of the study area is is manifested by the highpH of the compost In line with the findings of this studyWael et al [61] stated that VC was used to increase the pH inacidic soils and reduce Al and Mn toxicity because of itsalkalinity Arancon et al [18] and Asciutto et al [62] alsoreported that VC contains most nutrients such as ex-changeable Ca phosphates and soluble K in plant availableforms
32 Effects of Treatments on pH Exchangeable Acidity and AlandAcid Saturation e lime at each respective applicationlevel alone or in combination with VC had significant(Ple 0001) effects on soil pH exchangeable acidity and Aland acid saturation (AS) (Table 3) e highest lime rate (6tonsmiddotCaCO3middothaminus1) significantly (Ple 0001) increased the pHfrom 480 to 601 reduced both the exchangeable acidity andAl from 24 to 017 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 and 170 to 033 cmolcmiddotkgminus1respectively and reduced acid saturation from 30 to 162
is might be because lime contains Ca2+ cation to exchangeandor replace H+ ion on the exchange sites and anions suchas CO3
2- to neutralize the H+ ion released from the exchangesites and hydrolyzing Al species to the soil solution Inconsent with the results of this study Kisinyo et al [63] andKisinyo et al [15] reported that application of lime to acidsoils increased Ca2+ andor Mg2+ ions and reduced Al3+ H+Mn2+ and Fe2+ ions in the soil solution
Vermicompost at each respective application levels hadalso significant (Ple 0001) effects on the soil pH ex-changeable acidity and Al and AS (Table 3) e rise in soilpH due to application of VC might be attributed to its highcontent of basic cations and pH which could reduce soilacidity and the contents of exchangeable acidity and Althrough replacing the acidic cations from the exchange sitesis is in agreement with the findings of Angelova et al [64]who pointed out that the direction of the change in soil pH asa result of VC application reflected the initial pH of VC
Generally the combination of all lime-VC treatmentssignificantly (Ple 0001) increased soil pH and decreasedexchangeable acidity and Al relative to the control (Table 3)Combination of the highest level of VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) with
Table 3 Effects of the treatments on pH exchangeable acidity and exchangeable Al and percent acid saturation of soil in the incubationstudy
Treatment Rate pH Ex Ac Ex Al AScmolcmiddotkgminus1
CV () mdash 203 251 255 514lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testEx Ac exchangeable acidity Ex Al exchangeable aluminium AS acid saturation chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient ofvariation
6 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) increased pH from 480 to 605 and decreasedexchangeable acidity and Al from 238 to 017 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 and045 to 009 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 respectively (Table 3) When lime ata rate of 4 tonsmiddothaminus1 was applied to the soil in combination withVC at the rate of 5 and 75 tonsmiddothaminus1 the soil pH increased to theoptimum pH for many crops e correlation analysis alsoindicated that the pH of the soils was correlated with the ex-changeable acidity (r minus087lowastlowast Ple 001) exchangeable Al(r minus087lowastlowast Ple 001) and AS (r minus088lowastlowast Ple 001) (Ta-ble 4) is is in agreement with Opala et al [65] who indicatedthat the combination of organic fertilizers having liming effectand inorganic fertilizers decreased exchangeable acidity which inturn increased soil pH
e chemical P fertilizer had no significant (Ple 0001)effect on soil pH exchangeable acidity and Al and AS whenapplied alone over the control (Table 3) Along with thisKisinyo et al [63] reported that application of the P fertilizeralone to acidic soils did not increase the soil pH neitherreduced soil exchangeable acidity
33 Effects of Treatments on Organic Matter Total Nitrogenand Available Phosphorus Compared to the control all theother treatments showed significant (Ple 0001) increase insoil OM except all levels of chemical P and the combination oflime (4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1) with all levels of the chemical Pfertilizer (Table 5) e highest content of OM (41) wasobtained when the soil was treated by the combination of lime(4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1) with highest level of VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1)(Table 5) Lime and VC application either individually or incombination increased soil pH and OM content which inturn enhances the microbial population An increase in pHmay decrease the stress on soil microbes and microbial ac-tivity and thus increases soil OM is is supported by thecorrelation in which pH was positively and significantly(r 055lowastlowast Ple 001) correlated with OM (Table 4) Inagreement with this Amba et al [66] indicated that soil OCincrement after the application of lime and manure wasassociated with the general improvement of soil conditions
e application of treatments significantly (Ple 0001)increased soil total N except the three rates of the chemical Pfertilizer alone (Table 5)e application of OM in the form ofVC is expected to increase theOM and TN contents of the soil
is is also evidenced by the total by the positive and sig-nificant correlation between total N (r 089lowastlowast Ple 001)and OM (Table 4)is is in agreement with Adeleye et al [67]and Efthimiadou et al [68] who stated that soil total N in-creases when biofertilizers are solely applied due to the ad-dition of OMMary and Sivagami [69] also reported that VC isrich in total Ne highest increment of total N (029mgmiddotkgminus1)was obtained when lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) was applied in com-bination with VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) (Table 5) Similar to theresults of the current study Biruk et al [34] reported increasein total N in acidic soils treated with lime and compost
e available P of the soil varied from 45 to 83mgmiddotkgminus1after incubation (Table 5) e highest available P was ob-tained when chemical P (60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1) lime (2 tonsmiddothaminus1)and VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) were applied in combinationerefore the application of the treatments at these ratessignificantly (Ple 00001) increased available P by 45 overthe control (Table 5) is might be due to the significant(Ple 0001) increase in soil pH due to the effect of lime andVC which in turn reduced P fixation is is also supportedby the results of the simple correlation analysis which in-dicated that the available P of the soil was positively andsignificantly correlated to the pH (r 069lowastlowast Ple 001)(Table 4)is is in harmony with the findings of Anetor andAkinrinde [70] who indicated that increase in soil pH due tolime application reduced P fixation Similarly Kisinyo et al[63] reported that the application of lime and chemical Pfertilizer in sole or combination had significantly positiveeffect on soil pH and available P in acid soils Application ofthe P fertilizer increased available P due to increase of P insoil Similar increase in soil available P in tropical soils hasbeen reported by Kisinyo et al [15] and Opala et al [4]Combined application of chemical P and VC increased soilavailable P more than when either of them were appliedalone is was because the organic material reduced soil Psorption making both the soil native P and the applied Pfertilizer available for plant uptake Similar results werereported by Kisinyo [71] and Opala et al [72]
34 Effects of Treatments on Exchangeable Bases andEffective Cation Exchange Capacity Soil exchangeable Cawas significantly (Ple 0001) increased by the application of
Table 4 Pearson correlation coefficients r among selected soil chemical properties
pH2O Ex Ac Ex Al AS OM TN BP Ca Mg K NaEx Ac minus087lowastlowastEx Al minus087lowastlowast 093lowastlowastAS minus088lowastlowast 092lowastlowast 087lowastlowastOM 055lowastlowast minus026 minus039lowast minus050lowastlowastTN 075lowastlowast minus051lowastlowast minus063lowastlowast minus067lowastlowast 089lowastlowastBP 069lowastlowast minus056lowastlowast minus053lowastlowast minus066lowastlowast 057lowastlowast 065lowastlowastCa 072lowastlowast minus057lowastlowast minus059lowastlowast minus081lowastlowast 085lowastlowast 083lowastlowast 065lowastlowastMg 078lowastlowast 078lowastlowast minus071lowastlowast minus080lowastlowast 081lowastlowast 085lowastlowast 059lowastlowast 091lowastlowastK 084lowastlowast minus076lowastlowast minus081lowastlowast minus088lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 082lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 084lowastlowast 085lowastlowastNa 079lowastlowast minus075lowastlowast minus075lowastlowast minus089lowastlowast 062lowastlowast 074lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 081lowastlowast 076lowastlowast 091lowastlowastFe minus079lowastlowast 086lowastlowast 083lowastlowast 089lowastlowast minus031lowast minus054lowastlowast minus058lowastlowast minus064lowastlowast minus065lowastlowast minus065lowastlowast minus085lowastlowastlowast lowastlowastSignificant at 005 and 001 probability levels respectively Ex Ac exchangeable acidity Ex Al exchangeable aluminium AS acid saturation OM organicmatter TN total nitrogen BP Bray-II P
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 7
all treatments except the application of chemical P alone(Table 6) e highest (77 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) and lowest(35 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) soil exchangeable Ca was obtained when thesoil was treated by VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) plus lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)and chemical P (40kgmiddothaminus1) respectively relative to the control(Table 6) Furthermore lime and VC when applied separatelyincreased soil exchangeable Ca over the control (Table 6) eincrease in exchangeable Ca due to the combined use of limeand VC could be associated with the release of Ca2+ from theapplied lime through its dissolution and vermicompost whichreplaces the acidic cations from the exchange siteerefore themost effective and significant increase was observed when VCwas combined with lime plus the chemical P fertilizeris is inagreement with the previous works of Hassen et al [73] andAdeleye et al [67] who reported increase in exchangeable Cafollowing combined application of lime and organic fertilizers
Soil exchangeable Mg was also significantly (Ple 0001)increased as a result of the treatments applied except thechemical P fertilizer (Table 6) Accordingly the highestexchangeable Mg (344 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) was recorded from in theapplication of lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) with VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1)(Table 6) e increased soil exchangeable Mg as a result oflime and VC application might be attributed to increase in
soil pH which in turn may have increased Mg availability inthe soil When VC was combined with lime and chemical Pfertilizer soil exchangeable Mg was increased and this wasattributed to addition of nutrients to the soil from the VC Inaddition the increase of soil pH by VC reduces Al3+ and H+
content in soil exchange sites and then increased Mgavailability e results are in agreement with those ofRepsiene and Skuodiene [74] and Andric et al [75] whoreported that soil exchangeable bases increased when acidicsoil was amended by lime and manure
e increase in soil exchangeable K and Na due toapplication of VC alone or in combination with the P fer-tilizer plus lime could be due to added K and Na from VCe VC used in the current study had 277 and142 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 of K and Na contents respectively whichmight have added significant amounts of these nutrients tothe soil (Table 2) is is supported by the report of Ayeniand Adetunji [76] Adeleye et al [67] and Adeniyan et al[77] who indicated that soil exchangeable bases increasewhen the biofertilizer was applied alone or in combinationwith the lime and P fertilizer
e effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) of the soilwas significantly (Ple 0001) affected by all treatments except
Table 5 Effects of treatments on organic matter total nitrogen and available phosphorus of the soil after incubation
Treatment Rate OM TN Bray mgmiddotkgminus1 II PControl 0 213l 020ij 45l
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 217jkl 021hi 56k
4 221jk 021hi 63gh
6 228i 023gh 62h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 217jkl 020ij 57jk
40 214l 019j 60i
60 216kl 021hi 62h
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 272h 021hi 58ij
50 320f 023gh 60i
75 399b 027abc 63gh
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 224ij 022hi 65f
CV () mdash 1 364 141lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testOM organic matter TN total nitrogen CN carbon to nitrogen ratio chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
8 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
the chemical P fertilizer when applied at the rate of 40 and60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1 (Table 6) is increase was due to improvedsoil conditions such as soil pH increased soil Ca Mg K andNa by VC and lime and increase of negative charges on thesurfaces of the soil colloids following the rise in pH eECEC increment might also be caused by deprotonation ofpH-dependent charge sites arising from VC is is inagreement with the findings of Edmeades [78] who statedthat ECEC increased with increasing pH of soils e ECECwas significantly increased with the increase of VC due to thegreater contents of exchangeable bases of VC is is sup-ported by Pandey and Shukla [79] who indicated that ap-plication of VC changed ECEC of the soil due to the changeof negative surfaces of the soil colloids
35 Effects of Treatments on Extractable Micronutrients (FeMn Zn and Cu) e extractable micronutrients weresignificantly (Ple 0001) affected by treatments (Table 7)Under almost all the treatments all extractable micro-nutrients decreased relative to the control (Table 7) eextractability of Fe Mn Zn and Cu tends to decrease as soilpH increased e exact mechanisms responsible for
reducing availability differ for each nutrient but can includeformation of low solubility compounds greater retention bysoil colloids when lime and VC are applied
e decrease in extractable Fe may be due to the changein pH caused by the amendments because the bioavailabilityof DTPA-extractable Fe was decreased when pH of the soilincreased In consent with this Imerb et al [80] and Waelet al [61] reported that extractable Fe decreased at pH levelsnear neutral or higher e application of lime and VCdecreased extractable Mn as compared with the control ismight be due to high CEC of organic fertilizer and its abilityto form chelate complexes with this nutrient Along withthis Angelova et al [64] reported that the application ofamendments decreased the extractable Mn concentration inthe soil which might be due to immobilization of Mn by theapplication of VC Extractable Zn was decreased signifi-cantly (Ple 0001) by the application of lime and VC and alsoin combination of all treatments is may be due to theincrement of soil pH and also the formation of insolubleform of Zn compound when it reacts with VC is inagreement with Walker et al [81] who pointed out that Znavailability is controlled by soil pH Angelova et al [64] alsoindicated that Zn can form insoluble compound precipitates
Table 6 Effects of treatments on exchangeable bases and effective cation exchange capacity
Treatment Rate Ex Ca Ex Mg Ex K Ex Na ECECcmolcmiddotkgminus1
CV () mdash 45 118 463 3 246lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testEx Ca exchangeable calcium Ex Mg exchangeable magnesium Ex K exchangeable potassium Ex Na exchangeable sodium ECEC effective cationexchange capacity chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9
during the mineralization of organic ameliorants e ex-tractable Cu was decreased by the application of amend-ments Especially VC supplements lead to lower content ofDTPA-extractable Cu is may be due to the trans-formation of OM in stable form that could link more Cu Inconcord to this Angelova et al [64] reported that enrich-ment of soil with OM could reduce the bioavailable Cu asa result of complexation of free ions of Cu
4 Conclusion
e study revealed that soils of the study area have limi-tations related to deficiency of major plant nutrient elementsand soil acidity As a result most of the soil propertiesmeasured responded positively to applications of lime VCand chemical P fertilizer either in combination or aloneisincubation experiment demonstrated that the application oflime VC and chemical P fertilizer could mitigate soil acidityand Al toxicity as well as improve soil fertility of acidic soilsof the study areae combined application of medium ratesof lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) and chemical P(40 kgmiddothaminus1) holds a lot of promise as an efficient alternativeto amend soil acidity and increase soil nutrient availabilityHowever the results need to be confirmed under field
conditions and the economic feasibility of application ofa particular combination needs to be quantified ereforefurther field work is recommended to verify this result
Conflicts of Interest
e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest
Acknowledgments
is work was supported by the Haramaya University re-search site (rare greenhouse) Haramaya University CentralLaboratory and Ethiopian Ministry of Education e au-thors acknowledge these institutions and staff members ofHaramayaUniversity Central Laboratory particularlyMr BaneKebede and staffmembers of greenhouse and the Nekemte SoilResearch Center for providing them the necessary support toconduct this study
References
[1] P Van Streaten Agro Geology the Use of Rocks for CropsEnviroquest Ltd Cambridge ON Canada 2007
Table 7 e effects of treatments on extractable micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) of the soil of the study area
Treatment Rate Fe Mn Zn Cumgmiddotkgminus1
Control 0 40a 36a 306a 365a
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 241c 31d 296bc 343b
4 166d 25h 241e 315d
6 143e 17k 223f 286h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 397a 36a 309a 366a
40 405a 36a 308a 365a
60 40a 36a 303ab 371a
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 307b 35b 299b 332c
5 298b 33c 290c 316d
75 298b 26g 278d 298ef
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 166d 24h 243e 314d
CV () mdash 314 103 123 092lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testchemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[2] S Kenyanjua M L Ireri S Wambua and S M NandwaldquoAcid soils in Kenya constraints and remedial optionsrdquo 2002KARI Technical Note No 11
[3] P O Kisinyo Constraints of soil acidity and nutrient depe-letion on maize (Zea mays L) production in Kenya PhDthesis Moi University Eldoret Kenya PhD thesis 2011
[4] P A Opala P O Kisinyo and R O Nyambati ldquoEffects ofTithonia diversifolia farmyard manure urea and phosphatefertilizer application methods on maize yields in westernKenyardquo Journal of Agriculture of Rural Develoment of Tropicsand Subtropics vol 116 no 1 pp 1ndash9 2015
[5] H Schlede Distribution of acid soils and liming materials inEthiopia Ethiopian Institute of Geological Surveys Ministryof Mines and Energy Addis Ababa Ethiopia 1989
[6] World Bank Staff Appraisal Report National Fertilizer SectorProject Ethiopia 1995 Report No 13722-ET
[7] W Haile and S Boke Mitigation of Soil Acidity and FertilityDecline Challenges for Sustainable Livelihood ImprovementResearch Findings from Southern Region of Ethiopia and ItsPolicy Implications Awassa Agricultural Research InstituteAwassa Ethiopia 2009
[8] M Abebe Ce Nature and Management of Acid Soils inEthiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2007
[9] V Viterello F Capadi and V Stefanuto ldquoRecent advances inAl and resentance in higher plantsrdquo Brazil Plant Physiologyvol 17 no 1 pp 129ndash143 2005
[10] E Ouma D Ligeyo T Matonyei et al ldquoEnhancing maizegrain yield in acid soils of Western Kenya using Al tolerantgermplasmrdquo Journal of Agricultural Science and Technologyvol 3 pp 33ndash46 2013
[11] C e H Calba C Zonkeng E M Ngonkeu andV O Adetimirin ldquoResponse of maize grain yield to changesin acid soil characterstics after soil amendmentrdquo Plant Soilvol 284 pp 45ndash57 2006
[12] M K Yao P K Angui S Konate et al ldquoEffects of land usetypes on soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics in mid-west Cote drsquoIvoirerdquo European Journal of Science and Researchvol 40 pp 211ndash222 2010
[13] N Z Lupwayi and I Haque ldquoPhosphorous a prerequisite forincreased productivity of forage and browsefree legumes inthe Ethiopian highlandsrdquo in Proceedings of the Second Con-ference of the Ethiopian Society of Soil Science Addis AbabaEthiopia September 1993
[14] S Boke ldquoSoil phosphorous fractions influenced by differentcropping system in Andosols and Nitisols in Kambata-Tenbaro and Wolaita Zones SNNPRS Ethiopiardquo AlemayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia MSc thesis 2004
[15] P O Kisinyo C O Othieno S O Gudu et al ldquoImmediateand residual effects of lime and phosphorus fertilizer on soilacidity and maize production in western Kenyardquo Experi-mental agriculture vol 50 no 1 pp 128ndash143 2014
[16] A Melese Y Markku and B Yitaferu ldquoEffects of lime woodash manure and mineral P fertilizer rates on acidity relatedchemical properties and growth and P uptake of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) on acid soil of Farta district North-western Highlands of Ethiopiardquo International Journal ofAgriculture and Crop Sciences vol 8 no 2 pp 256ndash269 2015
[17] D Mengesha and L Mekonnen ldquoIntegrated agronomic cropmanagements to improve teff productivity under terminaldroughtrdquo in Water Stress I Md M Rahman andH Hasegawa Eds pp 235ndash254 Intech Open ScienceLondon UK 2012
[18] N Q Arancon C A Edwards R Atiyeh and J D MetzgerldquoEffects of vermicompost produced from food waste on the
growth and yields of greenhouse peppersrdquo Bio-ResourcesTechnology vol 93 no 2 pp 139ndash144 2004
[19] J Dominguez ldquoState of the art and new perspectives onvermicomposting researchrdquo in Earthworm EcologyC A Edwardspp 401ndash424 CRC Press Boca Raton FL USA2nd edition 2004
[20] R M Azarmi T Giglou and R D Taleshmikail ldquoInfluence ofvermicompost on soil chemical and physical properties intomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) fieldrdquo African Journal ofBio-technology vol 7 pp 2397ndash2401 2008
[21] L Angin E L Aksakal T Oztas and A Hanay ldquoEffects ofmunicipal solid waste compost (MSWC) application oncertain physical properties of soils subjected to freeze-thawrdquoSoil Tillage Research vol 130 pp 58ndash61 2013
[22] J Lordan M Pascual and F Fonseca ldquoUse of rice husk toenhance peach tree performance in soil switch limitingphysical propertiesrdquo Soil Tillage and Research vol 129pp 19ndash22 2013
[23] R Abafita ldquoEvaluation of vermicompost on maize pro-ductivity and determine optimum rate for maize productionrdquoWorld Journal of Biology and Medical Sciences vol 3 no 1pp 9ndash22 2016
[24] M R Haj Seyed Hadi M T Darzi Z Ghandehari andG H Riazi ldquoEffects of vermicompost and amino acids on theflower yield and essential oil production from Matricariachamomilla L J of Medrdquo Plants Research vol 5 no 23pp 5611ndash5617 2011
[25] S Suthar ldquoEffect of vermicompost and inorganic fertilizer onwheat (Triticum aestivum) productionrdquo Nature Environ-mental Pollution Technology vol 5 pp 197ndash201 2006
[26] S I Glenda B Ismet K Skender and B Astrit ldquoe influenceof vermicompost on plant growth characteristics of cucumber(Cucumis sativus L) seedlings under saline conditionsrdquoJournal of Food Agriculture and Environmental vol 7pp 869ndash872 2009
[27] R K Sinha S Agarwal K Chaudhan and D Valani ldquoewonders of earthworms and its vermicomposting in farmproduction Charles Darwinrsquos friends of farmersrsquo with po-tential to replace destructive chemical fertilizers from agri-culturerdquo Agricultural Science vol 1 no 2 pp 76ndash94 2010
[28] A Mahajan R M Bhagat and R D Gupta ldquoIntegratednutrient management in sustainable rice-wheat croppingsystem for food security in Indiardquo SAARC Journal of Agri-culture vol 6 no 2 pp 29ndash32 2008
[29] R Singh and S K Agarwal ldquoGrowth and yield of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) as influenced by levels of farmyardmanure and nitrogenrdquo Indian Journal of Agronomy vol 46no 3 pp 462ndash467 2001
[30] G Angachew ldquoAmeliorating effects of organic and inorganicfertilizers on crop productivity and soil properties on reddish-brown soilsrdquo in Proceedings of the 10th Conference of theEthiopian Society of Soil Science pp 127ndash150 Addis AbabaEthiopia March 2009
[31] A F Gafar M Yassin D Ibrahim and S O Yagoob ldquoEffectof different (bio organic and inorganic) fertilizers on someyield components of rice (Oryza sativa L)rdquo Universal Journalof Agricultural Research vol 2 no 2 pp 67ndash70 2014
[32] A Chimdi H Gebrekidan K Kibret and A Tadesse ldquoEffectsof liming on acidity-related chemical properties of soils ofdifferent land use systems in Western Oromia EthiopiardquoWorld Journal of Agricultural Science vol 8 no 6 pp 560ndash567 2012
[33] A Kidanemariam ldquoSoil acidity characterization and effects ofliming and chemical fertilization on dry matter yield and
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
nutrient uptake of wheat (Triticum aestivum L) on soils ofTsegede District Northern Ethiopiardquo PhD thesis HaramayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia PhD thesis 2013
[34] B Teshome ldquoEffect of compost lime and P on selectedproperties of acidic soils of Asosardquo Journal of Biology Ag-riculture and Healthcare vol 7 no 5 pp 2224ndash3208 2017
[35] A Abraham Studied Rock Units of Western Ethiopia AddisAbaba EthiopiaGeological Survey Bulletin Note No 305 1990
[36] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) Edited by P Driessen J Deckers andF Nachtergaele Eds Food and Agricultural OrganizationsRome Italy 2001
[37] M AbebeNatures andManagement of Ethiopian Soils AlemayaUniversity of Agriculture Haramaya Ethiopia 1998
[38] FAO (Food andAgricultureOrganization of theUnitedNations)Soil Map of the World Revised Legend World Soil ResourceReport 60 FAO Rome Italy 1990
[39] NMA (National Meteorological Agency) Gida AyanaWeather Station Rainfall and Temperature Data NMA AsosaEthiopia 2015
[40] G H Bouyoucos ldquoA recalibration of the hydrometer formaking mechanical analysis of soilsrdquo Agricultural Journalsvol 43 pp 434ndash438 1951
[41] V C Jamison H H Weaver and I F Reed ldquoA hammer-driven soil core samplerrdquo Soil Science vol 69 pp 487ndash4961950
[42] T C Barauah and H P Barthakulh A Text Book of SoilAnalysis Vikas Publishing House New Delhi India 1997
[43] S H Chopra and J S Kanwar Analytical AgriculturalChemistry Kalyani Publisher Bengaluru India 1976
[44] D L Rowell Method and Applications Addison WesleyLongman Limited London UK 1994
[45] A Walkley and I A Black ldquoAn examination of the Degtjareffmethod for determining soil organic matter and proposedmodification of the titration methodrdquo Soil Science vol 37pp 29ndash38 1934
[46] J M Bremner and C S Mulvaney ldquoNitrogen-totalrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Part 2 Chemical and MicrobiologicalProperties A L Page R HMiller andD R Keeneypp 595ndash624American Society of AgronomyMadisonWI USA 2nd edition1982
[47] H R Bray and L T Kurtz ldquoDetermination of organic andavailable forms of phosphorus in soilsrdquo Soil Science vol 59no 1 pp 39ndash46 1945
[48] H D Chapman ldquoCation exchange capacity by ammoniumsaturationrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Agronomy Part II No9 CA Black Ed pp 891ndash901 American Society ofAgronomy Madison WI USA 1965
[49] M Pansu and J Gautheyrou Handbook of Soil AnalysisSpringer New York NY USA 2006
[50] S Sertsu and T Bekele ldquoProcedures for soil and plantanalysisrdquo National Soil Research Center Ethiopian Agricul-tural Research Organization (EARO) Addis Ababa EthiopiaTechnical paper 74 2000
[51] C Pisa andMWuta ldquoEvaluation of composting performanceof mixtures of chicken blood and maize stover in HarareZimbabwerdquo International Journal of Recycling of OrganicWaste in Agriculture vol 2 no 1 pp 1ndash11 2013
[52] P M Ndegwa and S A ompson ldquoIntegrating compostingand vermicomposting in the treatment and bioconversion ofsolidsrdquo Bioresource Technology vol 76 pp 107ndash112 2001
[53] J R Okalebo K W Guthua and P J Woomer LaboratoryMethods of Soil and Plant Analysis a Working Manual TSBF-CIAT and SACRED Africa Nairobi Kenya 2002
[54] A D Manson and V Katusic Potato Fertilization in Kwa-zulu-Natal Cedara Report NoNA9724 Cedara Reportsand Publications 1997
[55] M P W Farina and P Chanon ldquoA field comparison of limerequirement indices for maizerdquo Plant and Soil vol 134pp 127ndash135 1991
[56] SAS (Statistical Analysis System) SASSTAT Userrsquos GuideProprietary Software Version 92 SAS Inst Inc Cary NCUSA 2004
[57] J B JonesAgronomic Handbook Management of Crops Soilsand Ceir Fertility CRC Press LLC Boca Raton FL USA2003
[58] T Tadese ldquoSoil plant water fertilizer animal manure andcompost analysisrdquo International Livestock Research centerfor Africa Addis Ababa Ethiopia Working document No 131991
[59] B Clements and I McGowen Strategic Fertilizer Use onPastures NSW Agriculture Agnote Reg 457 Orange NSWAustralia 1994
[60] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) World Reference Base for Soil Resources AFramework for International Classification Correlation andCommunication World Soil Resources Reports No 103 2ndedition 2006
[61] M N Wael V R Leon C Sarina and B Oswald ldquoEffect ofvermicompost on soil and plant properties of coal spoil in theLusatian region (Eastern Germany)rdquo Karl-Liebknecht Strassevol 24-25 p 14476 2011
[62] K Asciutto M C Rivera E R Wright D Morisigue andM V Lopez ldquoEffect of vermicompost on the growth andhealth of Impatiens walleranardquo International Journal of Ex-perimental Botany vol 75 pp 115ndash123 2006
[63] P O Kisinyo S O Gudu C O Othieno et al ldquoEffects of limephosphorus and Rhizobia on Sesbania sesban performance ina Western Kenyan acid soilrdquo African Journal of AgriculturalResearch vol 7 no 18 pp 2800ndash2809 2012
[64] V R Angelova V I Akova N S Artinova and K I Ivanovldquoe effect of organic amendments on soil chemical char-acteristicsrdquo Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science vol 19no 5 pp 958ndash971 2013
[65] P A Opala J R Okalebo and C O Othieno ldquoEffects oforganic and inorganic materials on soil acidity and phos-phorus availability in a soil incubation studyrdquo InternationalScholarly Research Network Agronomy vol 2012 article597216 10 pages 2012
[66] A A Amba E B Agbo N Voncir andM O Oyawoye ldquoEffectof phosphorus fertilizer on some soil chemical properties andnitrogen fixation of legumes at Bauchirdquo Continental Journal ofAgricultural Science vol 5 no 1 pp 39ndash44 2011
[67] E O Adeleye L S Ayeni and S O Ojeniyi ldquoEffect of poultrymanure on soil physicochemical properties leaf nutrientcontents and yield of Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) on Alfisol inSouthwestern Nigeriardquo Journal of American Science vol 6no 10 pp 871ndash878 2010
[68] A Efthimiadou D Bilalis A Karkanis and B Froud-Wil-liams ldquoCombined organicinorganic fertilization enhance soilquality and increased yield photosynthesis and sustainabilityof sweet maize croprdquo Australian Journal of Crop Sciencevol 4 no 9 pp 722ndash729 2010
[69] D D Mary and S Sivagami ldquoEffect of individual andcombined application of bio-fertilisers vermicompost andinorganic fertilizers on soil enzymes and minerals during thepost harvesting stage of chillirdquo Research Journal of Agricultureand Environmental Management vol 3 pp 434ndash441 2014
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[70] M O Anetor and E A Akinrinde ldquoResponse of soybean[Glycine max (L) Merrill] to lime and phosphorus fertilizertreatments on an acidic Alfisol of Nigeriardquo Pakistan Journal ofNutrition vol 5 no 3 pp 286ndash293 2006
[71] P O Kisinyo ldquoMaize response to organic and inorganic soilamendments grown under tropical acidic soil of KenyardquoJournal of Agricultural Science and Food Technology vol 2no 3 pp 35ndash40 2016
[72] P A Opala J R Okalebo C O Othieno and P KisinyoldquoEffects of organic and inorganic phosphorus sources onmaize yields in acid soils of western Kenyardquo Nutrient Cyclingin Agroecosystems vol 86 pp 317ndash329 2010
[73] A Hassan A Mohamad A Abdu R M Idrus andN A Besar ldquoSoil properties under Orthosiphon stamineus(Benth) intercropped with Durio zibethinus (Murr) andtreated with various organic fertilizersrdquo in Proceedings of the19th World Congress of Soil Science Soil Solutions fora Changing World Brisbane Australia August 2010
[74] R Repsiene and R Skuodiene ldquoe influence of liming andorganic fertilization on the changes of some agrochemicalindicators and their relationship with crop weed incidencerdquoZemdirbyste Agriculture vol 97 no 4 pp 3ndash14 2010
[75] L Andric M Rastija T Teklic and V Kovacevic ldquoResponseof maize and soybeans to limingrdquo Turkish Journal of Agri-culture and Forestry vol 36 pp 415ndash420 2012
[76] L S Ayeni and M T Adetunji ldquoIntegrated application ofpoultry manure and mineral fertilizer on soil chemicalproperties nutrient uptake yields and growth components ofmaizerdquo Nature and Science vol 8 no 1 pp 60ndash67 2010
[77] O N Adeniyan A O Ojo O A Akinbode andJ A Adediran ldquoComparative study of different organicmanures and NPK fertilizer for improvement of soil chemicalproperties and dry matter yield of maize in two differentsoilsrdquo Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Managementvol 2 no 1 pp 9ndash13 2011
[78] D C Edmeades ldquoEffects of lime on effective cation exchangecapacity and exchangeable cations on a range of New Zealandsoilsrdquo New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research vol 25no 1 pp 27ndash33 2012
[79] C Pandey and S Shukla ldquoEffects of composted yard waste onwater movement in sandy soilrdquo Compost Science and Utili-zation vol 14 no 4 pp 252ndash259 2006
[80] R Imerb N Bamroongrugsa K Kawashima T Amano andS Kato ldquoUtilization of coal ash to improve acid soilrdquoSongklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology vol 26no 5 pp 697ndash708 2004
[81] D J Walker R Clemente A Roig and M P Bernal ldquoeeffects of soil amendments on heavy metal bioavailability intwo contaminated Mediterranean soilsrdquo Environmental Pol-lution vol 122 pp 303ndash312 2003
lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) increased pH from 480 to 605 and decreasedexchangeable acidity and Al from 238 to 017 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 and045 to 009 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 respectively (Table 3) When lime ata rate of 4 tonsmiddothaminus1 was applied to the soil in combination withVC at the rate of 5 and 75 tonsmiddothaminus1 the soil pH increased to theoptimum pH for many crops e correlation analysis alsoindicated that the pH of the soils was correlated with the ex-changeable acidity (r minus087lowastlowast Ple 001) exchangeable Al(r minus087lowastlowast Ple 001) and AS (r minus088lowastlowast Ple 001) (Ta-ble 4) is is in agreement with Opala et al [65] who indicatedthat the combination of organic fertilizers having liming effectand inorganic fertilizers decreased exchangeable acidity which inturn increased soil pH
e chemical P fertilizer had no significant (Ple 0001)effect on soil pH exchangeable acidity and Al and AS whenapplied alone over the control (Table 3) Along with thisKisinyo et al [63] reported that application of the P fertilizeralone to acidic soils did not increase the soil pH neitherreduced soil exchangeable acidity
33 Effects of Treatments on Organic Matter Total Nitrogenand Available Phosphorus Compared to the control all theother treatments showed significant (Ple 0001) increase insoil OM except all levels of chemical P and the combination oflime (4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1) with all levels of the chemical Pfertilizer (Table 5) e highest content of OM (41) wasobtained when the soil was treated by the combination of lime(4 tons CaCO3middothaminus1) with highest level of VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1)(Table 5) Lime and VC application either individually or incombination increased soil pH and OM content which inturn enhances the microbial population An increase in pHmay decrease the stress on soil microbes and microbial ac-tivity and thus increases soil OM is is supported by thecorrelation in which pH was positively and significantly(r 055lowastlowast Ple 001) correlated with OM (Table 4) Inagreement with this Amba et al [66] indicated that soil OCincrement after the application of lime and manure wasassociated with the general improvement of soil conditions
e application of treatments significantly (Ple 0001)increased soil total N except the three rates of the chemical Pfertilizer alone (Table 5)e application of OM in the form ofVC is expected to increase theOM and TN contents of the soil
is is also evidenced by the total by the positive and sig-nificant correlation between total N (r 089lowastlowast Ple 001)and OM (Table 4)is is in agreement with Adeleye et al [67]and Efthimiadou et al [68] who stated that soil total N in-creases when biofertilizers are solely applied due to the ad-dition of OMMary and Sivagami [69] also reported that VC isrich in total Ne highest increment of total N (029mgmiddotkgminus1)was obtained when lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) was applied in com-bination with VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) (Table 5) Similar to theresults of the current study Biruk et al [34] reported increasein total N in acidic soils treated with lime and compost
e available P of the soil varied from 45 to 83mgmiddotkgminus1after incubation (Table 5) e highest available P was ob-tained when chemical P (60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1) lime (2 tonsmiddothaminus1)and VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) were applied in combinationerefore the application of the treatments at these ratessignificantly (Ple 00001) increased available P by 45 overthe control (Table 5) is might be due to the significant(Ple 0001) increase in soil pH due to the effect of lime andVC which in turn reduced P fixation is is also supportedby the results of the simple correlation analysis which in-dicated that the available P of the soil was positively andsignificantly correlated to the pH (r 069lowastlowast Ple 001)(Table 4)is is in harmony with the findings of Anetor andAkinrinde [70] who indicated that increase in soil pH due tolime application reduced P fixation Similarly Kisinyo et al[63] reported that the application of lime and chemical Pfertilizer in sole or combination had significantly positiveeffect on soil pH and available P in acid soils Application ofthe P fertilizer increased available P due to increase of P insoil Similar increase in soil available P in tropical soils hasbeen reported by Kisinyo et al [15] and Opala et al [4]Combined application of chemical P and VC increased soilavailable P more than when either of them were appliedalone is was because the organic material reduced soil Psorption making both the soil native P and the applied Pfertilizer available for plant uptake Similar results werereported by Kisinyo [71] and Opala et al [72]
34 Effects of Treatments on Exchangeable Bases andEffective Cation Exchange Capacity Soil exchangeable Cawas significantly (Ple 0001) increased by the application of
Table 4 Pearson correlation coefficients r among selected soil chemical properties
pH2O Ex Ac Ex Al AS OM TN BP Ca Mg K NaEx Ac minus087lowastlowastEx Al minus087lowastlowast 093lowastlowastAS minus088lowastlowast 092lowastlowast 087lowastlowastOM 055lowastlowast minus026 minus039lowast minus050lowastlowastTN 075lowastlowast minus051lowastlowast minus063lowastlowast minus067lowastlowast 089lowastlowastBP 069lowastlowast minus056lowastlowast minus053lowastlowast minus066lowastlowast 057lowastlowast 065lowastlowastCa 072lowastlowast minus057lowastlowast minus059lowastlowast minus081lowastlowast 085lowastlowast 083lowastlowast 065lowastlowastMg 078lowastlowast 078lowastlowast minus071lowastlowast minus080lowastlowast 081lowastlowast 085lowastlowast 059lowastlowast 091lowastlowastK 084lowastlowast minus076lowastlowast minus081lowastlowast minus088lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 082lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 084lowastlowast 085lowastlowastNa 079lowastlowast minus075lowastlowast minus075lowastlowast minus089lowastlowast 062lowastlowast 074lowastlowast 073lowastlowast 081lowastlowast 076lowastlowast 091lowastlowastFe minus079lowastlowast 086lowastlowast 083lowastlowast 089lowastlowast minus031lowast minus054lowastlowast minus058lowastlowast minus064lowastlowast minus065lowastlowast minus065lowastlowast minus085lowastlowastlowast lowastlowastSignificant at 005 and 001 probability levels respectively Ex Ac exchangeable acidity Ex Al exchangeable aluminium AS acid saturation OM organicmatter TN total nitrogen BP Bray-II P
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 7
all treatments except the application of chemical P alone(Table 6) e highest (77 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) and lowest(35 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) soil exchangeable Ca was obtained when thesoil was treated by VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) plus lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)and chemical P (40kgmiddothaminus1) respectively relative to the control(Table 6) Furthermore lime and VC when applied separatelyincreased soil exchangeable Ca over the control (Table 6) eincrease in exchangeable Ca due to the combined use of limeand VC could be associated with the release of Ca2+ from theapplied lime through its dissolution and vermicompost whichreplaces the acidic cations from the exchange siteerefore themost effective and significant increase was observed when VCwas combined with lime plus the chemical P fertilizeris is inagreement with the previous works of Hassen et al [73] andAdeleye et al [67] who reported increase in exchangeable Cafollowing combined application of lime and organic fertilizers
Soil exchangeable Mg was also significantly (Ple 0001)increased as a result of the treatments applied except thechemical P fertilizer (Table 6) Accordingly the highestexchangeable Mg (344 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) was recorded from in theapplication of lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) with VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1)(Table 6) e increased soil exchangeable Mg as a result oflime and VC application might be attributed to increase in
soil pH which in turn may have increased Mg availability inthe soil When VC was combined with lime and chemical Pfertilizer soil exchangeable Mg was increased and this wasattributed to addition of nutrients to the soil from the VC Inaddition the increase of soil pH by VC reduces Al3+ and H+
content in soil exchange sites and then increased Mgavailability e results are in agreement with those ofRepsiene and Skuodiene [74] and Andric et al [75] whoreported that soil exchangeable bases increased when acidicsoil was amended by lime and manure
e increase in soil exchangeable K and Na due toapplication of VC alone or in combination with the P fer-tilizer plus lime could be due to added K and Na from VCe VC used in the current study had 277 and142 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 of K and Na contents respectively whichmight have added significant amounts of these nutrients tothe soil (Table 2) is is supported by the report of Ayeniand Adetunji [76] Adeleye et al [67] and Adeniyan et al[77] who indicated that soil exchangeable bases increasewhen the biofertilizer was applied alone or in combinationwith the lime and P fertilizer
e effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) of the soilwas significantly (Ple 0001) affected by all treatments except
Table 5 Effects of treatments on organic matter total nitrogen and available phosphorus of the soil after incubation
Treatment Rate OM TN Bray mgmiddotkgminus1 II PControl 0 213l 020ij 45l
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 217jkl 021hi 56k
4 221jk 021hi 63gh
6 228i 023gh 62h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 217jkl 020ij 57jk
40 214l 019j 60i
60 216kl 021hi 62h
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 272h 021hi 58ij
50 320f 023gh 60i
75 399b 027abc 63gh
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 224ij 022hi 65f
CV () mdash 1 364 141lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testOM organic matter TN total nitrogen CN carbon to nitrogen ratio chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
8 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
the chemical P fertilizer when applied at the rate of 40 and60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1 (Table 6) is increase was due to improvedsoil conditions such as soil pH increased soil Ca Mg K andNa by VC and lime and increase of negative charges on thesurfaces of the soil colloids following the rise in pH eECEC increment might also be caused by deprotonation ofpH-dependent charge sites arising from VC is is inagreement with the findings of Edmeades [78] who statedthat ECEC increased with increasing pH of soils e ECECwas significantly increased with the increase of VC due to thegreater contents of exchangeable bases of VC is is sup-ported by Pandey and Shukla [79] who indicated that ap-plication of VC changed ECEC of the soil due to the changeof negative surfaces of the soil colloids
35 Effects of Treatments on Extractable Micronutrients (FeMn Zn and Cu) e extractable micronutrients weresignificantly (Ple 0001) affected by treatments (Table 7)Under almost all the treatments all extractable micro-nutrients decreased relative to the control (Table 7) eextractability of Fe Mn Zn and Cu tends to decrease as soilpH increased e exact mechanisms responsible for
reducing availability differ for each nutrient but can includeformation of low solubility compounds greater retention bysoil colloids when lime and VC are applied
e decrease in extractable Fe may be due to the changein pH caused by the amendments because the bioavailabilityof DTPA-extractable Fe was decreased when pH of the soilincreased In consent with this Imerb et al [80] and Waelet al [61] reported that extractable Fe decreased at pH levelsnear neutral or higher e application of lime and VCdecreased extractable Mn as compared with the control ismight be due to high CEC of organic fertilizer and its abilityto form chelate complexes with this nutrient Along withthis Angelova et al [64] reported that the application ofamendments decreased the extractable Mn concentration inthe soil which might be due to immobilization of Mn by theapplication of VC Extractable Zn was decreased signifi-cantly (Ple 0001) by the application of lime and VC and alsoin combination of all treatments is may be due to theincrement of soil pH and also the formation of insolubleform of Zn compound when it reacts with VC is inagreement with Walker et al [81] who pointed out that Znavailability is controlled by soil pH Angelova et al [64] alsoindicated that Zn can form insoluble compound precipitates
Table 6 Effects of treatments on exchangeable bases and effective cation exchange capacity
Treatment Rate Ex Ca Ex Mg Ex K Ex Na ECECcmolcmiddotkgminus1
CV () mdash 45 118 463 3 246lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testEx Ca exchangeable calcium Ex Mg exchangeable magnesium Ex K exchangeable potassium Ex Na exchangeable sodium ECEC effective cationexchange capacity chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9
during the mineralization of organic ameliorants e ex-tractable Cu was decreased by the application of amend-ments Especially VC supplements lead to lower content ofDTPA-extractable Cu is may be due to the trans-formation of OM in stable form that could link more Cu Inconcord to this Angelova et al [64] reported that enrich-ment of soil with OM could reduce the bioavailable Cu asa result of complexation of free ions of Cu
4 Conclusion
e study revealed that soils of the study area have limi-tations related to deficiency of major plant nutrient elementsand soil acidity As a result most of the soil propertiesmeasured responded positively to applications of lime VCand chemical P fertilizer either in combination or aloneisincubation experiment demonstrated that the application oflime VC and chemical P fertilizer could mitigate soil acidityand Al toxicity as well as improve soil fertility of acidic soilsof the study areae combined application of medium ratesof lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) and chemical P(40 kgmiddothaminus1) holds a lot of promise as an efficient alternativeto amend soil acidity and increase soil nutrient availabilityHowever the results need to be confirmed under field
conditions and the economic feasibility of application ofa particular combination needs to be quantified ereforefurther field work is recommended to verify this result
Conflicts of Interest
e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest
Acknowledgments
is work was supported by the Haramaya University re-search site (rare greenhouse) Haramaya University CentralLaboratory and Ethiopian Ministry of Education e au-thors acknowledge these institutions and staff members ofHaramayaUniversity Central Laboratory particularlyMr BaneKebede and staffmembers of greenhouse and the Nekemte SoilResearch Center for providing them the necessary support toconduct this study
References
[1] P Van Streaten Agro Geology the Use of Rocks for CropsEnviroquest Ltd Cambridge ON Canada 2007
Table 7 e effects of treatments on extractable micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) of the soil of the study area
Treatment Rate Fe Mn Zn Cumgmiddotkgminus1
Control 0 40a 36a 306a 365a
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 241c 31d 296bc 343b
4 166d 25h 241e 315d
6 143e 17k 223f 286h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 397a 36a 309a 366a
40 405a 36a 308a 365a
60 40a 36a 303ab 371a
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 307b 35b 299b 332c
5 298b 33c 290c 316d
75 298b 26g 278d 298ef
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 166d 24h 243e 314d
CV () mdash 314 103 123 092lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testchemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[2] S Kenyanjua M L Ireri S Wambua and S M NandwaldquoAcid soils in Kenya constraints and remedial optionsrdquo 2002KARI Technical Note No 11
[3] P O Kisinyo Constraints of soil acidity and nutrient depe-letion on maize (Zea mays L) production in Kenya PhDthesis Moi University Eldoret Kenya PhD thesis 2011
[4] P A Opala P O Kisinyo and R O Nyambati ldquoEffects ofTithonia diversifolia farmyard manure urea and phosphatefertilizer application methods on maize yields in westernKenyardquo Journal of Agriculture of Rural Develoment of Tropicsand Subtropics vol 116 no 1 pp 1ndash9 2015
[5] H Schlede Distribution of acid soils and liming materials inEthiopia Ethiopian Institute of Geological Surveys Ministryof Mines and Energy Addis Ababa Ethiopia 1989
[6] World Bank Staff Appraisal Report National Fertilizer SectorProject Ethiopia 1995 Report No 13722-ET
[7] W Haile and S Boke Mitigation of Soil Acidity and FertilityDecline Challenges for Sustainable Livelihood ImprovementResearch Findings from Southern Region of Ethiopia and ItsPolicy Implications Awassa Agricultural Research InstituteAwassa Ethiopia 2009
[8] M Abebe Ce Nature and Management of Acid Soils inEthiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2007
[9] V Viterello F Capadi and V Stefanuto ldquoRecent advances inAl and resentance in higher plantsrdquo Brazil Plant Physiologyvol 17 no 1 pp 129ndash143 2005
[10] E Ouma D Ligeyo T Matonyei et al ldquoEnhancing maizegrain yield in acid soils of Western Kenya using Al tolerantgermplasmrdquo Journal of Agricultural Science and Technologyvol 3 pp 33ndash46 2013
[11] C e H Calba C Zonkeng E M Ngonkeu andV O Adetimirin ldquoResponse of maize grain yield to changesin acid soil characterstics after soil amendmentrdquo Plant Soilvol 284 pp 45ndash57 2006
[12] M K Yao P K Angui S Konate et al ldquoEffects of land usetypes on soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics in mid-west Cote drsquoIvoirerdquo European Journal of Science and Researchvol 40 pp 211ndash222 2010
[13] N Z Lupwayi and I Haque ldquoPhosphorous a prerequisite forincreased productivity of forage and browsefree legumes inthe Ethiopian highlandsrdquo in Proceedings of the Second Con-ference of the Ethiopian Society of Soil Science Addis AbabaEthiopia September 1993
[14] S Boke ldquoSoil phosphorous fractions influenced by differentcropping system in Andosols and Nitisols in Kambata-Tenbaro and Wolaita Zones SNNPRS Ethiopiardquo AlemayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia MSc thesis 2004
[15] P O Kisinyo C O Othieno S O Gudu et al ldquoImmediateand residual effects of lime and phosphorus fertilizer on soilacidity and maize production in western Kenyardquo Experi-mental agriculture vol 50 no 1 pp 128ndash143 2014
[16] A Melese Y Markku and B Yitaferu ldquoEffects of lime woodash manure and mineral P fertilizer rates on acidity relatedchemical properties and growth and P uptake of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) on acid soil of Farta district North-western Highlands of Ethiopiardquo International Journal ofAgriculture and Crop Sciences vol 8 no 2 pp 256ndash269 2015
[17] D Mengesha and L Mekonnen ldquoIntegrated agronomic cropmanagements to improve teff productivity under terminaldroughtrdquo in Water Stress I Md M Rahman andH Hasegawa Eds pp 235ndash254 Intech Open ScienceLondon UK 2012
[18] N Q Arancon C A Edwards R Atiyeh and J D MetzgerldquoEffects of vermicompost produced from food waste on the
growth and yields of greenhouse peppersrdquo Bio-ResourcesTechnology vol 93 no 2 pp 139ndash144 2004
[19] J Dominguez ldquoState of the art and new perspectives onvermicomposting researchrdquo in Earthworm EcologyC A Edwardspp 401ndash424 CRC Press Boca Raton FL USA2nd edition 2004
[20] R M Azarmi T Giglou and R D Taleshmikail ldquoInfluence ofvermicompost on soil chemical and physical properties intomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) fieldrdquo African Journal ofBio-technology vol 7 pp 2397ndash2401 2008
[21] L Angin E L Aksakal T Oztas and A Hanay ldquoEffects ofmunicipal solid waste compost (MSWC) application oncertain physical properties of soils subjected to freeze-thawrdquoSoil Tillage Research vol 130 pp 58ndash61 2013
[22] J Lordan M Pascual and F Fonseca ldquoUse of rice husk toenhance peach tree performance in soil switch limitingphysical propertiesrdquo Soil Tillage and Research vol 129pp 19ndash22 2013
[23] R Abafita ldquoEvaluation of vermicompost on maize pro-ductivity and determine optimum rate for maize productionrdquoWorld Journal of Biology and Medical Sciences vol 3 no 1pp 9ndash22 2016
[24] M R Haj Seyed Hadi M T Darzi Z Ghandehari andG H Riazi ldquoEffects of vermicompost and amino acids on theflower yield and essential oil production from Matricariachamomilla L J of Medrdquo Plants Research vol 5 no 23pp 5611ndash5617 2011
[25] S Suthar ldquoEffect of vermicompost and inorganic fertilizer onwheat (Triticum aestivum) productionrdquo Nature Environ-mental Pollution Technology vol 5 pp 197ndash201 2006
[26] S I Glenda B Ismet K Skender and B Astrit ldquoe influenceof vermicompost on plant growth characteristics of cucumber(Cucumis sativus L) seedlings under saline conditionsrdquoJournal of Food Agriculture and Environmental vol 7pp 869ndash872 2009
[27] R K Sinha S Agarwal K Chaudhan and D Valani ldquoewonders of earthworms and its vermicomposting in farmproduction Charles Darwinrsquos friends of farmersrsquo with po-tential to replace destructive chemical fertilizers from agri-culturerdquo Agricultural Science vol 1 no 2 pp 76ndash94 2010
[28] A Mahajan R M Bhagat and R D Gupta ldquoIntegratednutrient management in sustainable rice-wheat croppingsystem for food security in Indiardquo SAARC Journal of Agri-culture vol 6 no 2 pp 29ndash32 2008
[29] R Singh and S K Agarwal ldquoGrowth and yield of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) as influenced by levels of farmyardmanure and nitrogenrdquo Indian Journal of Agronomy vol 46no 3 pp 462ndash467 2001
[30] G Angachew ldquoAmeliorating effects of organic and inorganicfertilizers on crop productivity and soil properties on reddish-brown soilsrdquo in Proceedings of the 10th Conference of theEthiopian Society of Soil Science pp 127ndash150 Addis AbabaEthiopia March 2009
[31] A F Gafar M Yassin D Ibrahim and S O Yagoob ldquoEffectof different (bio organic and inorganic) fertilizers on someyield components of rice (Oryza sativa L)rdquo Universal Journalof Agricultural Research vol 2 no 2 pp 67ndash70 2014
[32] A Chimdi H Gebrekidan K Kibret and A Tadesse ldquoEffectsof liming on acidity-related chemical properties of soils ofdifferent land use systems in Western Oromia EthiopiardquoWorld Journal of Agricultural Science vol 8 no 6 pp 560ndash567 2012
[33] A Kidanemariam ldquoSoil acidity characterization and effects ofliming and chemical fertilization on dry matter yield and
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
nutrient uptake of wheat (Triticum aestivum L) on soils ofTsegede District Northern Ethiopiardquo PhD thesis HaramayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia PhD thesis 2013
[34] B Teshome ldquoEffect of compost lime and P on selectedproperties of acidic soils of Asosardquo Journal of Biology Ag-riculture and Healthcare vol 7 no 5 pp 2224ndash3208 2017
[35] A Abraham Studied Rock Units of Western Ethiopia AddisAbaba EthiopiaGeological Survey Bulletin Note No 305 1990
[36] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) Edited by P Driessen J Deckers andF Nachtergaele Eds Food and Agricultural OrganizationsRome Italy 2001
[37] M AbebeNatures andManagement of Ethiopian Soils AlemayaUniversity of Agriculture Haramaya Ethiopia 1998
[38] FAO (Food andAgricultureOrganization of theUnitedNations)Soil Map of the World Revised Legend World Soil ResourceReport 60 FAO Rome Italy 1990
[39] NMA (National Meteorological Agency) Gida AyanaWeather Station Rainfall and Temperature Data NMA AsosaEthiopia 2015
[40] G H Bouyoucos ldquoA recalibration of the hydrometer formaking mechanical analysis of soilsrdquo Agricultural Journalsvol 43 pp 434ndash438 1951
[41] V C Jamison H H Weaver and I F Reed ldquoA hammer-driven soil core samplerrdquo Soil Science vol 69 pp 487ndash4961950
[42] T C Barauah and H P Barthakulh A Text Book of SoilAnalysis Vikas Publishing House New Delhi India 1997
[43] S H Chopra and J S Kanwar Analytical AgriculturalChemistry Kalyani Publisher Bengaluru India 1976
[44] D L Rowell Method and Applications Addison WesleyLongman Limited London UK 1994
[45] A Walkley and I A Black ldquoAn examination of the Degtjareffmethod for determining soil organic matter and proposedmodification of the titration methodrdquo Soil Science vol 37pp 29ndash38 1934
[46] J M Bremner and C S Mulvaney ldquoNitrogen-totalrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Part 2 Chemical and MicrobiologicalProperties A L Page R HMiller andD R Keeneypp 595ndash624American Society of AgronomyMadisonWI USA 2nd edition1982
[47] H R Bray and L T Kurtz ldquoDetermination of organic andavailable forms of phosphorus in soilsrdquo Soil Science vol 59no 1 pp 39ndash46 1945
[48] H D Chapman ldquoCation exchange capacity by ammoniumsaturationrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Agronomy Part II No9 CA Black Ed pp 891ndash901 American Society ofAgronomy Madison WI USA 1965
[49] M Pansu and J Gautheyrou Handbook of Soil AnalysisSpringer New York NY USA 2006
[50] S Sertsu and T Bekele ldquoProcedures for soil and plantanalysisrdquo National Soil Research Center Ethiopian Agricul-tural Research Organization (EARO) Addis Ababa EthiopiaTechnical paper 74 2000
[51] C Pisa andMWuta ldquoEvaluation of composting performanceof mixtures of chicken blood and maize stover in HarareZimbabwerdquo International Journal of Recycling of OrganicWaste in Agriculture vol 2 no 1 pp 1ndash11 2013
[52] P M Ndegwa and S A ompson ldquoIntegrating compostingand vermicomposting in the treatment and bioconversion ofsolidsrdquo Bioresource Technology vol 76 pp 107ndash112 2001
[53] J R Okalebo K W Guthua and P J Woomer LaboratoryMethods of Soil and Plant Analysis a Working Manual TSBF-CIAT and SACRED Africa Nairobi Kenya 2002
[54] A D Manson and V Katusic Potato Fertilization in Kwa-zulu-Natal Cedara Report NoNA9724 Cedara Reportsand Publications 1997
[55] M P W Farina and P Chanon ldquoA field comparison of limerequirement indices for maizerdquo Plant and Soil vol 134pp 127ndash135 1991
[56] SAS (Statistical Analysis System) SASSTAT Userrsquos GuideProprietary Software Version 92 SAS Inst Inc Cary NCUSA 2004
[57] J B JonesAgronomic Handbook Management of Crops Soilsand Ceir Fertility CRC Press LLC Boca Raton FL USA2003
[58] T Tadese ldquoSoil plant water fertilizer animal manure andcompost analysisrdquo International Livestock Research centerfor Africa Addis Ababa Ethiopia Working document No 131991
[59] B Clements and I McGowen Strategic Fertilizer Use onPastures NSW Agriculture Agnote Reg 457 Orange NSWAustralia 1994
[60] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) World Reference Base for Soil Resources AFramework for International Classification Correlation andCommunication World Soil Resources Reports No 103 2ndedition 2006
[61] M N Wael V R Leon C Sarina and B Oswald ldquoEffect ofvermicompost on soil and plant properties of coal spoil in theLusatian region (Eastern Germany)rdquo Karl-Liebknecht Strassevol 24-25 p 14476 2011
[62] K Asciutto M C Rivera E R Wright D Morisigue andM V Lopez ldquoEffect of vermicompost on the growth andhealth of Impatiens walleranardquo International Journal of Ex-perimental Botany vol 75 pp 115ndash123 2006
[63] P O Kisinyo S O Gudu C O Othieno et al ldquoEffects of limephosphorus and Rhizobia on Sesbania sesban performance ina Western Kenyan acid soilrdquo African Journal of AgriculturalResearch vol 7 no 18 pp 2800ndash2809 2012
[64] V R Angelova V I Akova N S Artinova and K I Ivanovldquoe effect of organic amendments on soil chemical char-acteristicsrdquo Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science vol 19no 5 pp 958ndash971 2013
[65] P A Opala J R Okalebo and C O Othieno ldquoEffects oforganic and inorganic materials on soil acidity and phos-phorus availability in a soil incubation studyrdquo InternationalScholarly Research Network Agronomy vol 2012 article597216 10 pages 2012
[66] A A Amba E B Agbo N Voncir andM O Oyawoye ldquoEffectof phosphorus fertilizer on some soil chemical properties andnitrogen fixation of legumes at Bauchirdquo Continental Journal ofAgricultural Science vol 5 no 1 pp 39ndash44 2011
[67] E O Adeleye L S Ayeni and S O Ojeniyi ldquoEffect of poultrymanure on soil physicochemical properties leaf nutrientcontents and yield of Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) on Alfisol inSouthwestern Nigeriardquo Journal of American Science vol 6no 10 pp 871ndash878 2010
[68] A Efthimiadou D Bilalis A Karkanis and B Froud-Wil-liams ldquoCombined organicinorganic fertilization enhance soilquality and increased yield photosynthesis and sustainabilityof sweet maize croprdquo Australian Journal of Crop Sciencevol 4 no 9 pp 722ndash729 2010
[69] D D Mary and S Sivagami ldquoEffect of individual andcombined application of bio-fertilisers vermicompost andinorganic fertilizers on soil enzymes and minerals during thepost harvesting stage of chillirdquo Research Journal of Agricultureand Environmental Management vol 3 pp 434ndash441 2014
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[70] M O Anetor and E A Akinrinde ldquoResponse of soybean[Glycine max (L) Merrill] to lime and phosphorus fertilizertreatments on an acidic Alfisol of Nigeriardquo Pakistan Journal ofNutrition vol 5 no 3 pp 286ndash293 2006
[71] P O Kisinyo ldquoMaize response to organic and inorganic soilamendments grown under tropical acidic soil of KenyardquoJournal of Agricultural Science and Food Technology vol 2no 3 pp 35ndash40 2016
[72] P A Opala J R Okalebo C O Othieno and P KisinyoldquoEffects of organic and inorganic phosphorus sources onmaize yields in acid soils of western Kenyardquo Nutrient Cyclingin Agroecosystems vol 86 pp 317ndash329 2010
[73] A Hassan A Mohamad A Abdu R M Idrus andN A Besar ldquoSoil properties under Orthosiphon stamineus(Benth) intercropped with Durio zibethinus (Murr) andtreated with various organic fertilizersrdquo in Proceedings of the19th World Congress of Soil Science Soil Solutions fora Changing World Brisbane Australia August 2010
[74] R Repsiene and R Skuodiene ldquoe influence of liming andorganic fertilization on the changes of some agrochemicalindicators and their relationship with crop weed incidencerdquoZemdirbyste Agriculture vol 97 no 4 pp 3ndash14 2010
[75] L Andric M Rastija T Teklic and V Kovacevic ldquoResponseof maize and soybeans to limingrdquo Turkish Journal of Agri-culture and Forestry vol 36 pp 415ndash420 2012
[76] L S Ayeni and M T Adetunji ldquoIntegrated application ofpoultry manure and mineral fertilizer on soil chemicalproperties nutrient uptake yields and growth components ofmaizerdquo Nature and Science vol 8 no 1 pp 60ndash67 2010
[77] O N Adeniyan A O Ojo O A Akinbode andJ A Adediran ldquoComparative study of different organicmanures and NPK fertilizer for improvement of soil chemicalproperties and dry matter yield of maize in two differentsoilsrdquo Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Managementvol 2 no 1 pp 9ndash13 2011
[78] D C Edmeades ldquoEffects of lime on effective cation exchangecapacity and exchangeable cations on a range of New Zealandsoilsrdquo New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research vol 25no 1 pp 27ndash33 2012
[79] C Pandey and S Shukla ldquoEffects of composted yard waste onwater movement in sandy soilrdquo Compost Science and Utili-zation vol 14 no 4 pp 252ndash259 2006
[80] R Imerb N Bamroongrugsa K Kawashima T Amano andS Kato ldquoUtilization of coal ash to improve acid soilrdquoSongklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology vol 26no 5 pp 697ndash708 2004
[81] D J Walker R Clemente A Roig and M P Bernal ldquoeeffects of soil amendments on heavy metal bioavailability intwo contaminated Mediterranean soilsrdquo Environmental Pol-lution vol 122 pp 303ndash312 2003
all treatments except the application of chemical P alone(Table 6) e highest (77 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) and lowest(35 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) soil exchangeable Ca was obtained when thesoil was treated by VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1) plus lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)and chemical P (40kgmiddothaminus1) respectively relative to the control(Table 6) Furthermore lime and VC when applied separatelyincreased soil exchangeable Ca over the control (Table 6) eincrease in exchangeable Ca due to the combined use of limeand VC could be associated with the release of Ca2+ from theapplied lime through its dissolution and vermicompost whichreplaces the acidic cations from the exchange siteerefore themost effective and significant increase was observed when VCwas combined with lime plus the chemical P fertilizeris is inagreement with the previous works of Hassen et al [73] andAdeleye et al [67] who reported increase in exchangeable Cafollowing combined application of lime and organic fertilizers
Soil exchangeable Mg was also significantly (Ple 0001)increased as a result of the treatments applied except thechemical P fertilizer (Table 6) Accordingly the highestexchangeable Mg (344 cmolcmiddotkgminus1) was recorded from in theapplication of lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) with VC (75 tonsmiddothaminus1)(Table 6) e increased soil exchangeable Mg as a result oflime and VC application might be attributed to increase in
soil pH which in turn may have increased Mg availability inthe soil When VC was combined with lime and chemical Pfertilizer soil exchangeable Mg was increased and this wasattributed to addition of nutrients to the soil from the VC Inaddition the increase of soil pH by VC reduces Al3+ and H+
content in soil exchange sites and then increased Mgavailability e results are in agreement with those ofRepsiene and Skuodiene [74] and Andric et al [75] whoreported that soil exchangeable bases increased when acidicsoil was amended by lime and manure
e increase in soil exchangeable K and Na due toapplication of VC alone or in combination with the P fer-tilizer plus lime could be due to added K and Na from VCe VC used in the current study had 277 and142 cmolcmiddotkgminus1 of K and Na contents respectively whichmight have added significant amounts of these nutrients tothe soil (Table 2) is is supported by the report of Ayeniand Adetunji [76] Adeleye et al [67] and Adeniyan et al[77] who indicated that soil exchangeable bases increasewhen the biofertilizer was applied alone or in combinationwith the lime and P fertilizer
e effective cation exchange capacity (ECEC) of the soilwas significantly (Ple 0001) affected by all treatments except
Table 5 Effects of treatments on organic matter total nitrogen and available phosphorus of the soil after incubation
Treatment Rate OM TN Bray mgmiddotkgminus1 II PControl 0 213l 020ij 45l
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 217jkl 021hi 56k
4 221jk 021hi 63gh
6 228i 023gh 62h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 217jkl 020ij 57jk
40 214l 019j 60i
60 216kl 021hi 62h
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 272h 021hi 58ij
50 320f 023gh 60i
75 399b 027abc 63gh
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 224ij 022hi 65f
CV () mdash 1 364 141lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testOM organic matter TN total nitrogen CN carbon to nitrogen ratio chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
8 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
the chemical P fertilizer when applied at the rate of 40 and60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1 (Table 6) is increase was due to improvedsoil conditions such as soil pH increased soil Ca Mg K andNa by VC and lime and increase of negative charges on thesurfaces of the soil colloids following the rise in pH eECEC increment might also be caused by deprotonation ofpH-dependent charge sites arising from VC is is inagreement with the findings of Edmeades [78] who statedthat ECEC increased with increasing pH of soils e ECECwas significantly increased with the increase of VC due to thegreater contents of exchangeable bases of VC is is sup-ported by Pandey and Shukla [79] who indicated that ap-plication of VC changed ECEC of the soil due to the changeof negative surfaces of the soil colloids
35 Effects of Treatments on Extractable Micronutrients (FeMn Zn and Cu) e extractable micronutrients weresignificantly (Ple 0001) affected by treatments (Table 7)Under almost all the treatments all extractable micro-nutrients decreased relative to the control (Table 7) eextractability of Fe Mn Zn and Cu tends to decrease as soilpH increased e exact mechanisms responsible for
reducing availability differ for each nutrient but can includeformation of low solubility compounds greater retention bysoil colloids when lime and VC are applied
e decrease in extractable Fe may be due to the changein pH caused by the amendments because the bioavailabilityof DTPA-extractable Fe was decreased when pH of the soilincreased In consent with this Imerb et al [80] and Waelet al [61] reported that extractable Fe decreased at pH levelsnear neutral or higher e application of lime and VCdecreased extractable Mn as compared with the control ismight be due to high CEC of organic fertilizer and its abilityto form chelate complexes with this nutrient Along withthis Angelova et al [64] reported that the application ofamendments decreased the extractable Mn concentration inthe soil which might be due to immobilization of Mn by theapplication of VC Extractable Zn was decreased signifi-cantly (Ple 0001) by the application of lime and VC and alsoin combination of all treatments is may be due to theincrement of soil pH and also the formation of insolubleform of Zn compound when it reacts with VC is inagreement with Walker et al [81] who pointed out that Znavailability is controlled by soil pH Angelova et al [64] alsoindicated that Zn can form insoluble compound precipitates
Table 6 Effects of treatments on exchangeable bases and effective cation exchange capacity
Treatment Rate Ex Ca Ex Mg Ex K Ex Na ECECcmolcmiddotkgminus1
CV () mdash 45 118 463 3 246lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testEx Ca exchangeable calcium Ex Mg exchangeable magnesium Ex K exchangeable potassium Ex Na exchangeable sodium ECEC effective cationexchange capacity chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9
during the mineralization of organic ameliorants e ex-tractable Cu was decreased by the application of amend-ments Especially VC supplements lead to lower content ofDTPA-extractable Cu is may be due to the trans-formation of OM in stable form that could link more Cu Inconcord to this Angelova et al [64] reported that enrich-ment of soil with OM could reduce the bioavailable Cu asa result of complexation of free ions of Cu
4 Conclusion
e study revealed that soils of the study area have limi-tations related to deficiency of major plant nutrient elementsand soil acidity As a result most of the soil propertiesmeasured responded positively to applications of lime VCand chemical P fertilizer either in combination or aloneisincubation experiment demonstrated that the application oflime VC and chemical P fertilizer could mitigate soil acidityand Al toxicity as well as improve soil fertility of acidic soilsof the study areae combined application of medium ratesof lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) and chemical P(40 kgmiddothaminus1) holds a lot of promise as an efficient alternativeto amend soil acidity and increase soil nutrient availabilityHowever the results need to be confirmed under field
conditions and the economic feasibility of application ofa particular combination needs to be quantified ereforefurther field work is recommended to verify this result
Conflicts of Interest
e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest
Acknowledgments
is work was supported by the Haramaya University re-search site (rare greenhouse) Haramaya University CentralLaboratory and Ethiopian Ministry of Education e au-thors acknowledge these institutions and staff members ofHaramayaUniversity Central Laboratory particularlyMr BaneKebede and staffmembers of greenhouse and the Nekemte SoilResearch Center for providing them the necessary support toconduct this study
References
[1] P Van Streaten Agro Geology the Use of Rocks for CropsEnviroquest Ltd Cambridge ON Canada 2007
Table 7 e effects of treatments on extractable micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) of the soil of the study area
Treatment Rate Fe Mn Zn Cumgmiddotkgminus1
Control 0 40a 36a 306a 365a
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 241c 31d 296bc 343b
4 166d 25h 241e 315d
6 143e 17k 223f 286h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 397a 36a 309a 366a
40 405a 36a 308a 365a
60 40a 36a 303ab 371a
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 307b 35b 299b 332c
5 298b 33c 290c 316d
75 298b 26g 278d 298ef
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 166d 24h 243e 314d
CV () mdash 314 103 123 092lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testchemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[2] S Kenyanjua M L Ireri S Wambua and S M NandwaldquoAcid soils in Kenya constraints and remedial optionsrdquo 2002KARI Technical Note No 11
[3] P O Kisinyo Constraints of soil acidity and nutrient depe-letion on maize (Zea mays L) production in Kenya PhDthesis Moi University Eldoret Kenya PhD thesis 2011
[4] P A Opala P O Kisinyo and R O Nyambati ldquoEffects ofTithonia diversifolia farmyard manure urea and phosphatefertilizer application methods on maize yields in westernKenyardquo Journal of Agriculture of Rural Develoment of Tropicsand Subtropics vol 116 no 1 pp 1ndash9 2015
[5] H Schlede Distribution of acid soils and liming materials inEthiopia Ethiopian Institute of Geological Surveys Ministryof Mines and Energy Addis Ababa Ethiopia 1989
[6] World Bank Staff Appraisal Report National Fertilizer SectorProject Ethiopia 1995 Report No 13722-ET
[7] W Haile and S Boke Mitigation of Soil Acidity and FertilityDecline Challenges for Sustainable Livelihood ImprovementResearch Findings from Southern Region of Ethiopia and ItsPolicy Implications Awassa Agricultural Research InstituteAwassa Ethiopia 2009
[8] M Abebe Ce Nature and Management of Acid Soils inEthiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2007
[9] V Viterello F Capadi and V Stefanuto ldquoRecent advances inAl and resentance in higher plantsrdquo Brazil Plant Physiologyvol 17 no 1 pp 129ndash143 2005
[10] E Ouma D Ligeyo T Matonyei et al ldquoEnhancing maizegrain yield in acid soils of Western Kenya using Al tolerantgermplasmrdquo Journal of Agricultural Science and Technologyvol 3 pp 33ndash46 2013
[11] C e H Calba C Zonkeng E M Ngonkeu andV O Adetimirin ldquoResponse of maize grain yield to changesin acid soil characterstics after soil amendmentrdquo Plant Soilvol 284 pp 45ndash57 2006
[12] M K Yao P K Angui S Konate et al ldquoEffects of land usetypes on soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics in mid-west Cote drsquoIvoirerdquo European Journal of Science and Researchvol 40 pp 211ndash222 2010
[13] N Z Lupwayi and I Haque ldquoPhosphorous a prerequisite forincreased productivity of forage and browsefree legumes inthe Ethiopian highlandsrdquo in Proceedings of the Second Con-ference of the Ethiopian Society of Soil Science Addis AbabaEthiopia September 1993
[14] S Boke ldquoSoil phosphorous fractions influenced by differentcropping system in Andosols and Nitisols in Kambata-Tenbaro and Wolaita Zones SNNPRS Ethiopiardquo AlemayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia MSc thesis 2004
[15] P O Kisinyo C O Othieno S O Gudu et al ldquoImmediateand residual effects of lime and phosphorus fertilizer on soilacidity and maize production in western Kenyardquo Experi-mental agriculture vol 50 no 1 pp 128ndash143 2014
[16] A Melese Y Markku and B Yitaferu ldquoEffects of lime woodash manure and mineral P fertilizer rates on acidity relatedchemical properties and growth and P uptake of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) on acid soil of Farta district North-western Highlands of Ethiopiardquo International Journal ofAgriculture and Crop Sciences vol 8 no 2 pp 256ndash269 2015
[17] D Mengesha and L Mekonnen ldquoIntegrated agronomic cropmanagements to improve teff productivity under terminaldroughtrdquo in Water Stress I Md M Rahman andH Hasegawa Eds pp 235ndash254 Intech Open ScienceLondon UK 2012
[18] N Q Arancon C A Edwards R Atiyeh and J D MetzgerldquoEffects of vermicompost produced from food waste on the
growth and yields of greenhouse peppersrdquo Bio-ResourcesTechnology vol 93 no 2 pp 139ndash144 2004
[19] J Dominguez ldquoState of the art and new perspectives onvermicomposting researchrdquo in Earthworm EcologyC A Edwardspp 401ndash424 CRC Press Boca Raton FL USA2nd edition 2004
[20] R M Azarmi T Giglou and R D Taleshmikail ldquoInfluence ofvermicompost on soil chemical and physical properties intomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) fieldrdquo African Journal ofBio-technology vol 7 pp 2397ndash2401 2008
[21] L Angin E L Aksakal T Oztas and A Hanay ldquoEffects ofmunicipal solid waste compost (MSWC) application oncertain physical properties of soils subjected to freeze-thawrdquoSoil Tillage Research vol 130 pp 58ndash61 2013
[22] J Lordan M Pascual and F Fonseca ldquoUse of rice husk toenhance peach tree performance in soil switch limitingphysical propertiesrdquo Soil Tillage and Research vol 129pp 19ndash22 2013
[23] R Abafita ldquoEvaluation of vermicompost on maize pro-ductivity and determine optimum rate for maize productionrdquoWorld Journal of Biology and Medical Sciences vol 3 no 1pp 9ndash22 2016
[24] M R Haj Seyed Hadi M T Darzi Z Ghandehari andG H Riazi ldquoEffects of vermicompost and amino acids on theflower yield and essential oil production from Matricariachamomilla L J of Medrdquo Plants Research vol 5 no 23pp 5611ndash5617 2011
[25] S Suthar ldquoEffect of vermicompost and inorganic fertilizer onwheat (Triticum aestivum) productionrdquo Nature Environ-mental Pollution Technology vol 5 pp 197ndash201 2006
[26] S I Glenda B Ismet K Skender and B Astrit ldquoe influenceof vermicompost on plant growth characteristics of cucumber(Cucumis sativus L) seedlings under saline conditionsrdquoJournal of Food Agriculture and Environmental vol 7pp 869ndash872 2009
[27] R K Sinha S Agarwal K Chaudhan and D Valani ldquoewonders of earthworms and its vermicomposting in farmproduction Charles Darwinrsquos friends of farmersrsquo with po-tential to replace destructive chemical fertilizers from agri-culturerdquo Agricultural Science vol 1 no 2 pp 76ndash94 2010
[28] A Mahajan R M Bhagat and R D Gupta ldquoIntegratednutrient management in sustainable rice-wheat croppingsystem for food security in Indiardquo SAARC Journal of Agri-culture vol 6 no 2 pp 29ndash32 2008
[29] R Singh and S K Agarwal ldquoGrowth and yield of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) as influenced by levels of farmyardmanure and nitrogenrdquo Indian Journal of Agronomy vol 46no 3 pp 462ndash467 2001
[30] G Angachew ldquoAmeliorating effects of organic and inorganicfertilizers on crop productivity and soil properties on reddish-brown soilsrdquo in Proceedings of the 10th Conference of theEthiopian Society of Soil Science pp 127ndash150 Addis AbabaEthiopia March 2009
[31] A F Gafar M Yassin D Ibrahim and S O Yagoob ldquoEffectof different (bio organic and inorganic) fertilizers on someyield components of rice (Oryza sativa L)rdquo Universal Journalof Agricultural Research vol 2 no 2 pp 67ndash70 2014
[32] A Chimdi H Gebrekidan K Kibret and A Tadesse ldquoEffectsof liming on acidity-related chemical properties of soils ofdifferent land use systems in Western Oromia EthiopiardquoWorld Journal of Agricultural Science vol 8 no 6 pp 560ndash567 2012
[33] A Kidanemariam ldquoSoil acidity characterization and effects ofliming and chemical fertilization on dry matter yield and
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
nutrient uptake of wheat (Triticum aestivum L) on soils ofTsegede District Northern Ethiopiardquo PhD thesis HaramayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia PhD thesis 2013
[34] B Teshome ldquoEffect of compost lime and P on selectedproperties of acidic soils of Asosardquo Journal of Biology Ag-riculture and Healthcare vol 7 no 5 pp 2224ndash3208 2017
[35] A Abraham Studied Rock Units of Western Ethiopia AddisAbaba EthiopiaGeological Survey Bulletin Note No 305 1990
[36] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) Edited by P Driessen J Deckers andF Nachtergaele Eds Food and Agricultural OrganizationsRome Italy 2001
[37] M AbebeNatures andManagement of Ethiopian Soils AlemayaUniversity of Agriculture Haramaya Ethiopia 1998
[38] FAO (Food andAgricultureOrganization of theUnitedNations)Soil Map of the World Revised Legend World Soil ResourceReport 60 FAO Rome Italy 1990
[39] NMA (National Meteorological Agency) Gida AyanaWeather Station Rainfall and Temperature Data NMA AsosaEthiopia 2015
[40] G H Bouyoucos ldquoA recalibration of the hydrometer formaking mechanical analysis of soilsrdquo Agricultural Journalsvol 43 pp 434ndash438 1951
[41] V C Jamison H H Weaver and I F Reed ldquoA hammer-driven soil core samplerrdquo Soil Science vol 69 pp 487ndash4961950
[42] T C Barauah and H P Barthakulh A Text Book of SoilAnalysis Vikas Publishing House New Delhi India 1997
[43] S H Chopra and J S Kanwar Analytical AgriculturalChemistry Kalyani Publisher Bengaluru India 1976
[44] D L Rowell Method and Applications Addison WesleyLongman Limited London UK 1994
[45] A Walkley and I A Black ldquoAn examination of the Degtjareffmethod for determining soil organic matter and proposedmodification of the titration methodrdquo Soil Science vol 37pp 29ndash38 1934
[46] J M Bremner and C S Mulvaney ldquoNitrogen-totalrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Part 2 Chemical and MicrobiologicalProperties A L Page R HMiller andD R Keeneypp 595ndash624American Society of AgronomyMadisonWI USA 2nd edition1982
[47] H R Bray and L T Kurtz ldquoDetermination of organic andavailable forms of phosphorus in soilsrdquo Soil Science vol 59no 1 pp 39ndash46 1945
[48] H D Chapman ldquoCation exchange capacity by ammoniumsaturationrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Agronomy Part II No9 CA Black Ed pp 891ndash901 American Society ofAgronomy Madison WI USA 1965
[49] M Pansu and J Gautheyrou Handbook of Soil AnalysisSpringer New York NY USA 2006
[50] S Sertsu and T Bekele ldquoProcedures for soil and plantanalysisrdquo National Soil Research Center Ethiopian Agricul-tural Research Organization (EARO) Addis Ababa EthiopiaTechnical paper 74 2000
[51] C Pisa andMWuta ldquoEvaluation of composting performanceof mixtures of chicken blood and maize stover in HarareZimbabwerdquo International Journal of Recycling of OrganicWaste in Agriculture vol 2 no 1 pp 1ndash11 2013
[52] P M Ndegwa and S A ompson ldquoIntegrating compostingand vermicomposting in the treatment and bioconversion ofsolidsrdquo Bioresource Technology vol 76 pp 107ndash112 2001
[53] J R Okalebo K W Guthua and P J Woomer LaboratoryMethods of Soil and Plant Analysis a Working Manual TSBF-CIAT and SACRED Africa Nairobi Kenya 2002
[54] A D Manson and V Katusic Potato Fertilization in Kwa-zulu-Natal Cedara Report NoNA9724 Cedara Reportsand Publications 1997
[55] M P W Farina and P Chanon ldquoA field comparison of limerequirement indices for maizerdquo Plant and Soil vol 134pp 127ndash135 1991
[56] SAS (Statistical Analysis System) SASSTAT Userrsquos GuideProprietary Software Version 92 SAS Inst Inc Cary NCUSA 2004
[57] J B JonesAgronomic Handbook Management of Crops Soilsand Ceir Fertility CRC Press LLC Boca Raton FL USA2003
[58] T Tadese ldquoSoil plant water fertilizer animal manure andcompost analysisrdquo International Livestock Research centerfor Africa Addis Ababa Ethiopia Working document No 131991
[59] B Clements and I McGowen Strategic Fertilizer Use onPastures NSW Agriculture Agnote Reg 457 Orange NSWAustralia 1994
[60] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) World Reference Base for Soil Resources AFramework for International Classification Correlation andCommunication World Soil Resources Reports No 103 2ndedition 2006
[61] M N Wael V R Leon C Sarina and B Oswald ldquoEffect ofvermicompost on soil and plant properties of coal spoil in theLusatian region (Eastern Germany)rdquo Karl-Liebknecht Strassevol 24-25 p 14476 2011
[62] K Asciutto M C Rivera E R Wright D Morisigue andM V Lopez ldquoEffect of vermicompost on the growth andhealth of Impatiens walleranardquo International Journal of Ex-perimental Botany vol 75 pp 115ndash123 2006
[63] P O Kisinyo S O Gudu C O Othieno et al ldquoEffects of limephosphorus and Rhizobia on Sesbania sesban performance ina Western Kenyan acid soilrdquo African Journal of AgriculturalResearch vol 7 no 18 pp 2800ndash2809 2012
[64] V R Angelova V I Akova N S Artinova and K I Ivanovldquoe effect of organic amendments on soil chemical char-acteristicsrdquo Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science vol 19no 5 pp 958ndash971 2013
[65] P A Opala J R Okalebo and C O Othieno ldquoEffects oforganic and inorganic materials on soil acidity and phos-phorus availability in a soil incubation studyrdquo InternationalScholarly Research Network Agronomy vol 2012 article597216 10 pages 2012
[66] A A Amba E B Agbo N Voncir andM O Oyawoye ldquoEffectof phosphorus fertilizer on some soil chemical properties andnitrogen fixation of legumes at Bauchirdquo Continental Journal ofAgricultural Science vol 5 no 1 pp 39ndash44 2011
[67] E O Adeleye L S Ayeni and S O Ojeniyi ldquoEffect of poultrymanure on soil physicochemical properties leaf nutrientcontents and yield of Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) on Alfisol inSouthwestern Nigeriardquo Journal of American Science vol 6no 10 pp 871ndash878 2010
[68] A Efthimiadou D Bilalis A Karkanis and B Froud-Wil-liams ldquoCombined organicinorganic fertilization enhance soilquality and increased yield photosynthesis and sustainabilityof sweet maize croprdquo Australian Journal of Crop Sciencevol 4 no 9 pp 722ndash729 2010
[69] D D Mary and S Sivagami ldquoEffect of individual andcombined application of bio-fertilisers vermicompost andinorganic fertilizers on soil enzymes and minerals during thepost harvesting stage of chillirdquo Research Journal of Agricultureand Environmental Management vol 3 pp 434ndash441 2014
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[70] M O Anetor and E A Akinrinde ldquoResponse of soybean[Glycine max (L) Merrill] to lime and phosphorus fertilizertreatments on an acidic Alfisol of Nigeriardquo Pakistan Journal ofNutrition vol 5 no 3 pp 286ndash293 2006
[71] P O Kisinyo ldquoMaize response to organic and inorganic soilamendments grown under tropical acidic soil of KenyardquoJournal of Agricultural Science and Food Technology vol 2no 3 pp 35ndash40 2016
[72] P A Opala J R Okalebo C O Othieno and P KisinyoldquoEffects of organic and inorganic phosphorus sources onmaize yields in acid soils of western Kenyardquo Nutrient Cyclingin Agroecosystems vol 86 pp 317ndash329 2010
[73] A Hassan A Mohamad A Abdu R M Idrus andN A Besar ldquoSoil properties under Orthosiphon stamineus(Benth) intercropped with Durio zibethinus (Murr) andtreated with various organic fertilizersrdquo in Proceedings of the19th World Congress of Soil Science Soil Solutions fora Changing World Brisbane Australia August 2010
[74] R Repsiene and R Skuodiene ldquoe influence of liming andorganic fertilization on the changes of some agrochemicalindicators and their relationship with crop weed incidencerdquoZemdirbyste Agriculture vol 97 no 4 pp 3ndash14 2010
[75] L Andric M Rastija T Teklic and V Kovacevic ldquoResponseof maize and soybeans to limingrdquo Turkish Journal of Agri-culture and Forestry vol 36 pp 415ndash420 2012
[76] L S Ayeni and M T Adetunji ldquoIntegrated application ofpoultry manure and mineral fertilizer on soil chemicalproperties nutrient uptake yields and growth components ofmaizerdquo Nature and Science vol 8 no 1 pp 60ndash67 2010
[77] O N Adeniyan A O Ojo O A Akinbode andJ A Adediran ldquoComparative study of different organicmanures and NPK fertilizer for improvement of soil chemicalproperties and dry matter yield of maize in two differentsoilsrdquo Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Managementvol 2 no 1 pp 9ndash13 2011
[78] D C Edmeades ldquoEffects of lime on effective cation exchangecapacity and exchangeable cations on a range of New Zealandsoilsrdquo New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research vol 25no 1 pp 27ndash33 2012
[79] C Pandey and S Shukla ldquoEffects of composted yard waste onwater movement in sandy soilrdquo Compost Science and Utili-zation vol 14 no 4 pp 252ndash259 2006
[80] R Imerb N Bamroongrugsa K Kawashima T Amano andS Kato ldquoUtilization of coal ash to improve acid soilrdquoSongklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology vol 26no 5 pp 697ndash708 2004
[81] D J Walker R Clemente A Roig and M P Bernal ldquoeeffects of soil amendments on heavy metal bioavailability intwo contaminated Mediterranean soilsrdquo Environmental Pol-lution vol 122 pp 303ndash312 2003
the chemical P fertilizer when applied at the rate of 40 and60 kgmiddotPmiddothaminus1 (Table 6) is increase was due to improvedsoil conditions such as soil pH increased soil Ca Mg K andNa by VC and lime and increase of negative charges on thesurfaces of the soil colloids following the rise in pH eECEC increment might also be caused by deprotonation ofpH-dependent charge sites arising from VC is is inagreement with the findings of Edmeades [78] who statedthat ECEC increased with increasing pH of soils e ECECwas significantly increased with the increase of VC due to thegreater contents of exchangeable bases of VC is is sup-ported by Pandey and Shukla [79] who indicated that ap-plication of VC changed ECEC of the soil due to the changeof negative surfaces of the soil colloids
35 Effects of Treatments on Extractable Micronutrients (FeMn Zn and Cu) e extractable micronutrients weresignificantly (Ple 0001) affected by treatments (Table 7)Under almost all the treatments all extractable micro-nutrients decreased relative to the control (Table 7) eextractability of Fe Mn Zn and Cu tends to decrease as soilpH increased e exact mechanisms responsible for
reducing availability differ for each nutrient but can includeformation of low solubility compounds greater retention bysoil colloids when lime and VC are applied
e decrease in extractable Fe may be due to the changein pH caused by the amendments because the bioavailabilityof DTPA-extractable Fe was decreased when pH of the soilincreased In consent with this Imerb et al [80] and Waelet al [61] reported that extractable Fe decreased at pH levelsnear neutral or higher e application of lime and VCdecreased extractable Mn as compared with the control ismight be due to high CEC of organic fertilizer and its abilityto form chelate complexes with this nutrient Along withthis Angelova et al [64] reported that the application ofamendments decreased the extractable Mn concentration inthe soil which might be due to immobilization of Mn by theapplication of VC Extractable Zn was decreased signifi-cantly (Ple 0001) by the application of lime and VC and alsoin combination of all treatments is may be due to theincrement of soil pH and also the formation of insolubleform of Zn compound when it reacts with VC is inagreement with Walker et al [81] who pointed out that Znavailability is controlled by soil pH Angelova et al [64] alsoindicated that Zn can form insoluble compound precipitates
Table 6 Effects of treatments on exchangeable bases and effective cation exchange capacity
Treatment Rate Ex Ca Ex Mg Ex K Ex Na ECECcmolcmiddotkgminus1
CV () mdash 45 118 463 3 246lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testEx Ca exchangeable calcium Ex Mg exchangeable magnesium Ex K exchangeable potassium Ex Na exchangeable sodium ECEC effective cationexchange capacity chemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 9
during the mineralization of organic ameliorants e ex-tractable Cu was decreased by the application of amend-ments Especially VC supplements lead to lower content ofDTPA-extractable Cu is may be due to the trans-formation of OM in stable form that could link more Cu Inconcord to this Angelova et al [64] reported that enrich-ment of soil with OM could reduce the bioavailable Cu asa result of complexation of free ions of Cu
4 Conclusion
e study revealed that soils of the study area have limi-tations related to deficiency of major plant nutrient elementsand soil acidity As a result most of the soil propertiesmeasured responded positively to applications of lime VCand chemical P fertilizer either in combination or aloneisincubation experiment demonstrated that the application oflime VC and chemical P fertilizer could mitigate soil acidityand Al toxicity as well as improve soil fertility of acidic soilsof the study areae combined application of medium ratesof lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) and chemical P(40 kgmiddothaminus1) holds a lot of promise as an efficient alternativeto amend soil acidity and increase soil nutrient availabilityHowever the results need to be confirmed under field
conditions and the economic feasibility of application ofa particular combination needs to be quantified ereforefurther field work is recommended to verify this result
Conflicts of Interest
e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest
Acknowledgments
is work was supported by the Haramaya University re-search site (rare greenhouse) Haramaya University CentralLaboratory and Ethiopian Ministry of Education e au-thors acknowledge these institutions and staff members ofHaramayaUniversity Central Laboratory particularlyMr BaneKebede and staffmembers of greenhouse and the Nekemte SoilResearch Center for providing them the necessary support toconduct this study
References
[1] P Van Streaten Agro Geology the Use of Rocks for CropsEnviroquest Ltd Cambridge ON Canada 2007
Table 7 e effects of treatments on extractable micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) of the soil of the study area
Treatment Rate Fe Mn Zn Cumgmiddotkgminus1
Control 0 40a 36a 306a 365a
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 241c 31d 296bc 343b
4 166d 25h 241e 315d
6 143e 17k 223f 286h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 397a 36a 309a 366a
40 405a 36a 308a 365a
60 40a 36a 303ab 371a
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 307b 35b 299b 332c
5 298b 33c 290c 316d
75 298b 26g 278d 298ef
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 166d 24h 243e 314d
CV () mdash 314 103 123 092lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testchemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[2] S Kenyanjua M L Ireri S Wambua and S M NandwaldquoAcid soils in Kenya constraints and remedial optionsrdquo 2002KARI Technical Note No 11
[3] P O Kisinyo Constraints of soil acidity and nutrient depe-letion on maize (Zea mays L) production in Kenya PhDthesis Moi University Eldoret Kenya PhD thesis 2011
[4] P A Opala P O Kisinyo and R O Nyambati ldquoEffects ofTithonia diversifolia farmyard manure urea and phosphatefertilizer application methods on maize yields in westernKenyardquo Journal of Agriculture of Rural Develoment of Tropicsand Subtropics vol 116 no 1 pp 1ndash9 2015
[5] H Schlede Distribution of acid soils and liming materials inEthiopia Ethiopian Institute of Geological Surveys Ministryof Mines and Energy Addis Ababa Ethiopia 1989
[6] World Bank Staff Appraisal Report National Fertilizer SectorProject Ethiopia 1995 Report No 13722-ET
[7] W Haile and S Boke Mitigation of Soil Acidity and FertilityDecline Challenges for Sustainable Livelihood ImprovementResearch Findings from Southern Region of Ethiopia and ItsPolicy Implications Awassa Agricultural Research InstituteAwassa Ethiopia 2009
[8] M Abebe Ce Nature and Management of Acid Soils inEthiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2007
[9] V Viterello F Capadi and V Stefanuto ldquoRecent advances inAl and resentance in higher plantsrdquo Brazil Plant Physiologyvol 17 no 1 pp 129ndash143 2005
[10] E Ouma D Ligeyo T Matonyei et al ldquoEnhancing maizegrain yield in acid soils of Western Kenya using Al tolerantgermplasmrdquo Journal of Agricultural Science and Technologyvol 3 pp 33ndash46 2013
[11] C e H Calba C Zonkeng E M Ngonkeu andV O Adetimirin ldquoResponse of maize grain yield to changesin acid soil characterstics after soil amendmentrdquo Plant Soilvol 284 pp 45ndash57 2006
[12] M K Yao P K Angui S Konate et al ldquoEffects of land usetypes on soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics in mid-west Cote drsquoIvoirerdquo European Journal of Science and Researchvol 40 pp 211ndash222 2010
[13] N Z Lupwayi and I Haque ldquoPhosphorous a prerequisite forincreased productivity of forage and browsefree legumes inthe Ethiopian highlandsrdquo in Proceedings of the Second Con-ference of the Ethiopian Society of Soil Science Addis AbabaEthiopia September 1993
[14] S Boke ldquoSoil phosphorous fractions influenced by differentcropping system in Andosols and Nitisols in Kambata-Tenbaro and Wolaita Zones SNNPRS Ethiopiardquo AlemayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia MSc thesis 2004
[15] P O Kisinyo C O Othieno S O Gudu et al ldquoImmediateand residual effects of lime and phosphorus fertilizer on soilacidity and maize production in western Kenyardquo Experi-mental agriculture vol 50 no 1 pp 128ndash143 2014
[16] A Melese Y Markku and B Yitaferu ldquoEffects of lime woodash manure and mineral P fertilizer rates on acidity relatedchemical properties and growth and P uptake of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) on acid soil of Farta district North-western Highlands of Ethiopiardquo International Journal ofAgriculture and Crop Sciences vol 8 no 2 pp 256ndash269 2015
[17] D Mengesha and L Mekonnen ldquoIntegrated agronomic cropmanagements to improve teff productivity under terminaldroughtrdquo in Water Stress I Md M Rahman andH Hasegawa Eds pp 235ndash254 Intech Open ScienceLondon UK 2012
[18] N Q Arancon C A Edwards R Atiyeh and J D MetzgerldquoEffects of vermicompost produced from food waste on the
growth and yields of greenhouse peppersrdquo Bio-ResourcesTechnology vol 93 no 2 pp 139ndash144 2004
[19] J Dominguez ldquoState of the art and new perspectives onvermicomposting researchrdquo in Earthworm EcologyC A Edwardspp 401ndash424 CRC Press Boca Raton FL USA2nd edition 2004
[20] R M Azarmi T Giglou and R D Taleshmikail ldquoInfluence ofvermicompost on soil chemical and physical properties intomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) fieldrdquo African Journal ofBio-technology vol 7 pp 2397ndash2401 2008
[21] L Angin E L Aksakal T Oztas and A Hanay ldquoEffects ofmunicipal solid waste compost (MSWC) application oncertain physical properties of soils subjected to freeze-thawrdquoSoil Tillage Research vol 130 pp 58ndash61 2013
[22] J Lordan M Pascual and F Fonseca ldquoUse of rice husk toenhance peach tree performance in soil switch limitingphysical propertiesrdquo Soil Tillage and Research vol 129pp 19ndash22 2013
[23] R Abafita ldquoEvaluation of vermicompost on maize pro-ductivity and determine optimum rate for maize productionrdquoWorld Journal of Biology and Medical Sciences vol 3 no 1pp 9ndash22 2016
[24] M R Haj Seyed Hadi M T Darzi Z Ghandehari andG H Riazi ldquoEffects of vermicompost and amino acids on theflower yield and essential oil production from Matricariachamomilla L J of Medrdquo Plants Research vol 5 no 23pp 5611ndash5617 2011
[25] S Suthar ldquoEffect of vermicompost and inorganic fertilizer onwheat (Triticum aestivum) productionrdquo Nature Environ-mental Pollution Technology vol 5 pp 197ndash201 2006
[26] S I Glenda B Ismet K Skender and B Astrit ldquoe influenceof vermicompost on plant growth characteristics of cucumber(Cucumis sativus L) seedlings under saline conditionsrdquoJournal of Food Agriculture and Environmental vol 7pp 869ndash872 2009
[27] R K Sinha S Agarwal K Chaudhan and D Valani ldquoewonders of earthworms and its vermicomposting in farmproduction Charles Darwinrsquos friends of farmersrsquo with po-tential to replace destructive chemical fertilizers from agri-culturerdquo Agricultural Science vol 1 no 2 pp 76ndash94 2010
[28] A Mahajan R M Bhagat and R D Gupta ldquoIntegratednutrient management in sustainable rice-wheat croppingsystem for food security in Indiardquo SAARC Journal of Agri-culture vol 6 no 2 pp 29ndash32 2008
[29] R Singh and S K Agarwal ldquoGrowth and yield of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) as influenced by levels of farmyardmanure and nitrogenrdquo Indian Journal of Agronomy vol 46no 3 pp 462ndash467 2001
[30] G Angachew ldquoAmeliorating effects of organic and inorganicfertilizers on crop productivity and soil properties on reddish-brown soilsrdquo in Proceedings of the 10th Conference of theEthiopian Society of Soil Science pp 127ndash150 Addis AbabaEthiopia March 2009
[31] A F Gafar M Yassin D Ibrahim and S O Yagoob ldquoEffectof different (bio organic and inorganic) fertilizers on someyield components of rice (Oryza sativa L)rdquo Universal Journalof Agricultural Research vol 2 no 2 pp 67ndash70 2014
[32] A Chimdi H Gebrekidan K Kibret and A Tadesse ldquoEffectsof liming on acidity-related chemical properties of soils ofdifferent land use systems in Western Oromia EthiopiardquoWorld Journal of Agricultural Science vol 8 no 6 pp 560ndash567 2012
[33] A Kidanemariam ldquoSoil acidity characterization and effects ofliming and chemical fertilization on dry matter yield and
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
nutrient uptake of wheat (Triticum aestivum L) on soils ofTsegede District Northern Ethiopiardquo PhD thesis HaramayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia PhD thesis 2013
[34] B Teshome ldquoEffect of compost lime and P on selectedproperties of acidic soils of Asosardquo Journal of Biology Ag-riculture and Healthcare vol 7 no 5 pp 2224ndash3208 2017
[35] A Abraham Studied Rock Units of Western Ethiopia AddisAbaba EthiopiaGeological Survey Bulletin Note No 305 1990
[36] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) Edited by P Driessen J Deckers andF Nachtergaele Eds Food and Agricultural OrganizationsRome Italy 2001
[37] M AbebeNatures andManagement of Ethiopian Soils AlemayaUniversity of Agriculture Haramaya Ethiopia 1998
[38] FAO (Food andAgricultureOrganization of theUnitedNations)Soil Map of the World Revised Legend World Soil ResourceReport 60 FAO Rome Italy 1990
[39] NMA (National Meteorological Agency) Gida AyanaWeather Station Rainfall and Temperature Data NMA AsosaEthiopia 2015
[40] G H Bouyoucos ldquoA recalibration of the hydrometer formaking mechanical analysis of soilsrdquo Agricultural Journalsvol 43 pp 434ndash438 1951
[41] V C Jamison H H Weaver and I F Reed ldquoA hammer-driven soil core samplerrdquo Soil Science vol 69 pp 487ndash4961950
[42] T C Barauah and H P Barthakulh A Text Book of SoilAnalysis Vikas Publishing House New Delhi India 1997
[43] S H Chopra and J S Kanwar Analytical AgriculturalChemistry Kalyani Publisher Bengaluru India 1976
[44] D L Rowell Method and Applications Addison WesleyLongman Limited London UK 1994
[45] A Walkley and I A Black ldquoAn examination of the Degtjareffmethod for determining soil organic matter and proposedmodification of the titration methodrdquo Soil Science vol 37pp 29ndash38 1934
[46] J M Bremner and C S Mulvaney ldquoNitrogen-totalrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Part 2 Chemical and MicrobiologicalProperties A L Page R HMiller andD R Keeneypp 595ndash624American Society of AgronomyMadisonWI USA 2nd edition1982
[47] H R Bray and L T Kurtz ldquoDetermination of organic andavailable forms of phosphorus in soilsrdquo Soil Science vol 59no 1 pp 39ndash46 1945
[48] H D Chapman ldquoCation exchange capacity by ammoniumsaturationrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Agronomy Part II No9 CA Black Ed pp 891ndash901 American Society ofAgronomy Madison WI USA 1965
[49] M Pansu and J Gautheyrou Handbook of Soil AnalysisSpringer New York NY USA 2006
[50] S Sertsu and T Bekele ldquoProcedures for soil and plantanalysisrdquo National Soil Research Center Ethiopian Agricul-tural Research Organization (EARO) Addis Ababa EthiopiaTechnical paper 74 2000
[51] C Pisa andMWuta ldquoEvaluation of composting performanceof mixtures of chicken blood and maize stover in HarareZimbabwerdquo International Journal of Recycling of OrganicWaste in Agriculture vol 2 no 1 pp 1ndash11 2013
[52] P M Ndegwa and S A ompson ldquoIntegrating compostingand vermicomposting in the treatment and bioconversion ofsolidsrdquo Bioresource Technology vol 76 pp 107ndash112 2001
[53] J R Okalebo K W Guthua and P J Woomer LaboratoryMethods of Soil and Plant Analysis a Working Manual TSBF-CIAT and SACRED Africa Nairobi Kenya 2002
[54] A D Manson and V Katusic Potato Fertilization in Kwa-zulu-Natal Cedara Report NoNA9724 Cedara Reportsand Publications 1997
[55] M P W Farina and P Chanon ldquoA field comparison of limerequirement indices for maizerdquo Plant and Soil vol 134pp 127ndash135 1991
[56] SAS (Statistical Analysis System) SASSTAT Userrsquos GuideProprietary Software Version 92 SAS Inst Inc Cary NCUSA 2004
[57] J B JonesAgronomic Handbook Management of Crops Soilsand Ceir Fertility CRC Press LLC Boca Raton FL USA2003
[58] T Tadese ldquoSoil plant water fertilizer animal manure andcompost analysisrdquo International Livestock Research centerfor Africa Addis Ababa Ethiopia Working document No 131991
[59] B Clements and I McGowen Strategic Fertilizer Use onPastures NSW Agriculture Agnote Reg 457 Orange NSWAustralia 1994
[60] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) World Reference Base for Soil Resources AFramework for International Classification Correlation andCommunication World Soil Resources Reports No 103 2ndedition 2006
[61] M N Wael V R Leon C Sarina and B Oswald ldquoEffect ofvermicompost on soil and plant properties of coal spoil in theLusatian region (Eastern Germany)rdquo Karl-Liebknecht Strassevol 24-25 p 14476 2011
[62] K Asciutto M C Rivera E R Wright D Morisigue andM V Lopez ldquoEffect of vermicompost on the growth andhealth of Impatiens walleranardquo International Journal of Ex-perimental Botany vol 75 pp 115ndash123 2006
[63] P O Kisinyo S O Gudu C O Othieno et al ldquoEffects of limephosphorus and Rhizobia on Sesbania sesban performance ina Western Kenyan acid soilrdquo African Journal of AgriculturalResearch vol 7 no 18 pp 2800ndash2809 2012
[64] V R Angelova V I Akova N S Artinova and K I Ivanovldquoe effect of organic amendments on soil chemical char-acteristicsrdquo Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science vol 19no 5 pp 958ndash971 2013
[65] P A Opala J R Okalebo and C O Othieno ldquoEffects oforganic and inorganic materials on soil acidity and phos-phorus availability in a soil incubation studyrdquo InternationalScholarly Research Network Agronomy vol 2012 article597216 10 pages 2012
[66] A A Amba E B Agbo N Voncir andM O Oyawoye ldquoEffectof phosphorus fertilizer on some soil chemical properties andnitrogen fixation of legumes at Bauchirdquo Continental Journal ofAgricultural Science vol 5 no 1 pp 39ndash44 2011
[67] E O Adeleye L S Ayeni and S O Ojeniyi ldquoEffect of poultrymanure on soil physicochemical properties leaf nutrientcontents and yield of Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) on Alfisol inSouthwestern Nigeriardquo Journal of American Science vol 6no 10 pp 871ndash878 2010
[68] A Efthimiadou D Bilalis A Karkanis and B Froud-Wil-liams ldquoCombined organicinorganic fertilization enhance soilquality and increased yield photosynthesis and sustainabilityof sweet maize croprdquo Australian Journal of Crop Sciencevol 4 no 9 pp 722ndash729 2010
[69] D D Mary and S Sivagami ldquoEffect of individual andcombined application of bio-fertilisers vermicompost andinorganic fertilizers on soil enzymes and minerals during thepost harvesting stage of chillirdquo Research Journal of Agricultureand Environmental Management vol 3 pp 434ndash441 2014
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[70] M O Anetor and E A Akinrinde ldquoResponse of soybean[Glycine max (L) Merrill] to lime and phosphorus fertilizertreatments on an acidic Alfisol of Nigeriardquo Pakistan Journal ofNutrition vol 5 no 3 pp 286ndash293 2006
[71] P O Kisinyo ldquoMaize response to organic and inorganic soilamendments grown under tropical acidic soil of KenyardquoJournal of Agricultural Science and Food Technology vol 2no 3 pp 35ndash40 2016
[72] P A Opala J R Okalebo C O Othieno and P KisinyoldquoEffects of organic and inorganic phosphorus sources onmaize yields in acid soils of western Kenyardquo Nutrient Cyclingin Agroecosystems vol 86 pp 317ndash329 2010
[73] A Hassan A Mohamad A Abdu R M Idrus andN A Besar ldquoSoil properties under Orthosiphon stamineus(Benth) intercropped with Durio zibethinus (Murr) andtreated with various organic fertilizersrdquo in Proceedings of the19th World Congress of Soil Science Soil Solutions fora Changing World Brisbane Australia August 2010
[74] R Repsiene and R Skuodiene ldquoe influence of liming andorganic fertilization on the changes of some agrochemicalindicators and their relationship with crop weed incidencerdquoZemdirbyste Agriculture vol 97 no 4 pp 3ndash14 2010
[75] L Andric M Rastija T Teklic and V Kovacevic ldquoResponseof maize and soybeans to limingrdquo Turkish Journal of Agri-culture and Forestry vol 36 pp 415ndash420 2012
[76] L S Ayeni and M T Adetunji ldquoIntegrated application ofpoultry manure and mineral fertilizer on soil chemicalproperties nutrient uptake yields and growth components ofmaizerdquo Nature and Science vol 8 no 1 pp 60ndash67 2010
[77] O N Adeniyan A O Ojo O A Akinbode andJ A Adediran ldquoComparative study of different organicmanures and NPK fertilizer for improvement of soil chemicalproperties and dry matter yield of maize in two differentsoilsrdquo Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Managementvol 2 no 1 pp 9ndash13 2011
[78] D C Edmeades ldquoEffects of lime on effective cation exchangecapacity and exchangeable cations on a range of New Zealandsoilsrdquo New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research vol 25no 1 pp 27ndash33 2012
[79] C Pandey and S Shukla ldquoEffects of composted yard waste onwater movement in sandy soilrdquo Compost Science and Utili-zation vol 14 no 4 pp 252ndash259 2006
[80] R Imerb N Bamroongrugsa K Kawashima T Amano andS Kato ldquoUtilization of coal ash to improve acid soilrdquoSongklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology vol 26no 5 pp 697ndash708 2004
[81] D J Walker R Clemente A Roig and M P Bernal ldquoeeffects of soil amendments on heavy metal bioavailability intwo contaminated Mediterranean soilsrdquo Environmental Pol-lution vol 122 pp 303ndash312 2003
during the mineralization of organic ameliorants e ex-tractable Cu was decreased by the application of amend-ments Especially VC supplements lead to lower content ofDTPA-extractable Cu is may be due to the trans-formation of OM in stable form that could link more Cu Inconcord to this Angelova et al [64] reported that enrich-ment of soil with OM could reduce the bioavailable Cu asa result of complexation of free ions of Cu
4 Conclusion
e study revealed that soils of the study area have limi-tations related to deficiency of major plant nutrient elementsand soil acidity As a result most of the soil propertiesmeasured responded positively to applications of lime VCand chemical P fertilizer either in combination or aloneisincubation experiment demonstrated that the application oflime VC and chemical P fertilizer could mitigate soil acidityand Al toxicity as well as improve soil fertility of acidic soilsof the study areae combined application of medium ratesof lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1) VC (5 tonsmiddothaminus1) and chemical P(40 kgmiddothaminus1) holds a lot of promise as an efficient alternativeto amend soil acidity and increase soil nutrient availabilityHowever the results need to be confirmed under field
conditions and the economic feasibility of application ofa particular combination needs to be quantified ereforefurther field work is recommended to verify this result
Conflicts of Interest
e authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest
Acknowledgments
is work was supported by the Haramaya University re-search site (rare greenhouse) Haramaya University CentralLaboratory and Ethiopian Ministry of Education e au-thors acknowledge these institutions and staff members ofHaramayaUniversity Central Laboratory particularlyMr BaneKebede and staffmembers of greenhouse and the Nekemte SoilResearch Center for providing them the necessary support toconduct this study
References
[1] P Van Streaten Agro Geology the Use of Rocks for CropsEnviroquest Ltd Cambridge ON Canada 2007
Table 7 e effects of treatments on extractable micronutrients (Fe Mn Zn and Cu) of the soil of the study area
Treatment Rate Fe Mn Zn Cumgmiddotkgminus1
Control 0 40a 36a 306a 365a
Lime (tonsmiddothaminus1)2 241c 31d 296bc 343b
4 166d 25h 241e 315d
6 143e 17k 223f 286h
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1)20 397a 36a 309a 366a
40 405a 36a 308a 365a
60 40a 36a 303ab 371a
VC (tonsmiddothaminus1)25 307b 35b 299b 332c
5 298b 33c 290c 316d
75 298b 26g 278d 298ef
Chemical P (kgmiddothaminus1) + lime (4 tonsmiddothaminus1)20 166d 24h 243e 314d
CV () mdash 314 103 123 092lowastMeans followed by the same letter within a column are not significantly different at Pgt 0001 lowastlowastlowastsignificant at Ple 0001 using Duncanrsquos multiple range testchemical P chemical phosphorus VC vermicompost CV coefficient of variation
10 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[2] S Kenyanjua M L Ireri S Wambua and S M NandwaldquoAcid soils in Kenya constraints and remedial optionsrdquo 2002KARI Technical Note No 11
[3] P O Kisinyo Constraints of soil acidity and nutrient depe-letion on maize (Zea mays L) production in Kenya PhDthesis Moi University Eldoret Kenya PhD thesis 2011
[4] P A Opala P O Kisinyo and R O Nyambati ldquoEffects ofTithonia diversifolia farmyard manure urea and phosphatefertilizer application methods on maize yields in westernKenyardquo Journal of Agriculture of Rural Develoment of Tropicsand Subtropics vol 116 no 1 pp 1ndash9 2015
[5] H Schlede Distribution of acid soils and liming materials inEthiopia Ethiopian Institute of Geological Surveys Ministryof Mines and Energy Addis Ababa Ethiopia 1989
[6] World Bank Staff Appraisal Report National Fertilizer SectorProject Ethiopia 1995 Report No 13722-ET
[7] W Haile and S Boke Mitigation of Soil Acidity and FertilityDecline Challenges for Sustainable Livelihood ImprovementResearch Findings from Southern Region of Ethiopia and ItsPolicy Implications Awassa Agricultural Research InstituteAwassa Ethiopia 2009
[8] M Abebe Ce Nature and Management of Acid Soils inEthiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2007
[9] V Viterello F Capadi and V Stefanuto ldquoRecent advances inAl and resentance in higher plantsrdquo Brazil Plant Physiologyvol 17 no 1 pp 129ndash143 2005
[10] E Ouma D Ligeyo T Matonyei et al ldquoEnhancing maizegrain yield in acid soils of Western Kenya using Al tolerantgermplasmrdquo Journal of Agricultural Science and Technologyvol 3 pp 33ndash46 2013
[11] C e H Calba C Zonkeng E M Ngonkeu andV O Adetimirin ldquoResponse of maize grain yield to changesin acid soil characterstics after soil amendmentrdquo Plant Soilvol 284 pp 45ndash57 2006
[12] M K Yao P K Angui S Konate et al ldquoEffects of land usetypes on soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics in mid-west Cote drsquoIvoirerdquo European Journal of Science and Researchvol 40 pp 211ndash222 2010
[13] N Z Lupwayi and I Haque ldquoPhosphorous a prerequisite forincreased productivity of forage and browsefree legumes inthe Ethiopian highlandsrdquo in Proceedings of the Second Con-ference of the Ethiopian Society of Soil Science Addis AbabaEthiopia September 1993
[14] S Boke ldquoSoil phosphorous fractions influenced by differentcropping system in Andosols and Nitisols in Kambata-Tenbaro and Wolaita Zones SNNPRS Ethiopiardquo AlemayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia MSc thesis 2004
[15] P O Kisinyo C O Othieno S O Gudu et al ldquoImmediateand residual effects of lime and phosphorus fertilizer on soilacidity and maize production in western Kenyardquo Experi-mental agriculture vol 50 no 1 pp 128ndash143 2014
[16] A Melese Y Markku and B Yitaferu ldquoEffects of lime woodash manure and mineral P fertilizer rates on acidity relatedchemical properties and growth and P uptake of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) on acid soil of Farta district North-western Highlands of Ethiopiardquo International Journal ofAgriculture and Crop Sciences vol 8 no 2 pp 256ndash269 2015
[17] D Mengesha and L Mekonnen ldquoIntegrated agronomic cropmanagements to improve teff productivity under terminaldroughtrdquo in Water Stress I Md M Rahman andH Hasegawa Eds pp 235ndash254 Intech Open ScienceLondon UK 2012
[18] N Q Arancon C A Edwards R Atiyeh and J D MetzgerldquoEffects of vermicompost produced from food waste on the
growth and yields of greenhouse peppersrdquo Bio-ResourcesTechnology vol 93 no 2 pp 139ndash144 2004
[19] J Dominguez ldquoState of the art and new perspectives onvermicomposting researchrdquo in Earthworm EcologyC A Edwardspp 401ndash424 CRC Press Boca Raton FL USA2nd edition 2004
[20] R M Azarmi T Giglou and R D Taleshmikail ldquoInfluence ofvermicompost on soil chemical and physical properties intomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) fieldrdquo African Journal ofBio-technology vol 7 pp 2397ndash2401 2008
[21] L Angin E L Aksakal T Oztas and A Hanay ldquoEffects ofmunicipal solid waste compost (MSWC) application oncertain physical properties of soils subjected to freeze-thawrdquoSoil Tillage Research vol 130 pp 58ndash61 2013
[22] J Lordan M Pascual and F Fonseca ldquoUse of rice husk toenhance peach tree performance in soil switch limitingphysical propertiesrdquo Soil Tillage and Research vol 129pp 19ndash22 2013
[23] R Abafita ldquoEvaluation of vermicompost on maize pro-ductivity and determine optimum rate for maize productionrdquoWorld Journal of Biology and Medical Sciences vol 3 no 1pp 9ndash22 2016
[24] M R Haj Seyed Hadi M T Darzi Z Ghandehari andG H Riazi ldquoEffects of vermicompost and amino acids on theflower yield and essential oil production from Matricariachamomilla L J of Medrdquo Plants Research vol 5 no 23pp 5611ndash5617 2011
[25] S Suthar ldquoEffect of vermicompost and inorganic fertilizer onwheat (Triticum aestivum) productionrdquo Nature Environ-mental Pollution Technology vol 5 pp 197ndash201 2006
[26] S I Glenda B Ismet K Skender and B Astrit ldquoe influenceof vermicompost on plant growth characteristics of cucumber(Cucumis sativus L) seedlings under saline conditionsrdquoJournal of Food Agriculture and Environmental vol 7pp 869ndash872 2009
[27] R K Sinha S Agarwal K Chaudhan and D Valani ldquoewonders of earthworms and its vermicomposting in farmproduction Charles Darwinrsquos friends of farmersrsquo with po-tential to replace destructive chemical fertilizers from agri-culturerdquo Agricultural Science vol 1 no 2 pp 76ndash94 2010
[28] A Mahajan R M Bhagat and R D Gupta ldquoIntegratednutrient management in sustainable rice-wheat croppingsystem for food security in Indiardquo SAARC Journal of Agri-culture vol 6 no 2 pp 29ndash32 2008
[29] R Singh and S K Agarwal ldquoGrowth and yield of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) as influenced by levels of farmyardmanure and nitrogenrdquo Indian Journal of Agronomy vol 46no 3 pp 462ndash467 2001
[30] G Angachew ldquoAmeliorating effects of organic and inorganicfertilizers on crop productivity and soil properties on reddish-brown soilsrdquo in Proceedings of the 10th Conference of theEthiopian Society of Soil Science pp 127ndash150 Addis AbabaEthiopia March 2009
[31] A F Gafar M Yassin D Ibrahim and S O Yagoob ldquoEffectof different (bio organic and inorganic) fertilizers on someyield components of rice (Oryza sativa L)rdquo Universal Journalof Agricultural Research vol 2 no 2 pp 67ndash70 2014
[32] A Chimdi H Gebrekidan K Kibret and A Tadesse ldquoEffectsof liming on acidity-related chemical properties of soils ofdifferent land use systems in Western Oromia EthiopiardquoWorld Journal of Agricultural Science vol 8 no 6 pp 560ndash567 2012
[33] A Kidanemariam ldquoSoil acidity characterization and effects ofliming and chemical fertilization on dry matter yield and
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
nutrient uptake of wheat (Triticum aestivum L) on soils ofTsegede District Northern Ethiopiardquo PhD thesis HaramayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia PhD thesis 2013
[34] B Teshome ldquoEffect of compost lime and P on selectedproperties of acidic soils of Asosardquo Journal of Biology Ag-riculture and Healthcare vol 7 no 5 pp 2224ndash3208 2017
[35] A Abraham Studied Rock Units of Western Ethiopia AddisAbaba EthiopiaGeological Survey Bulletin Note No 305 1990
[36] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) Edited by P Driessen J Deckers andF Nachtergaele Eds Food and Agricultural OrganizationsRome Italy 2001
[37] M AbebeNatures andManagement of Ethiopian Soils AlemayaUniversity of Agriculture Haramaya Ethiopia 1998
[38] FAO (Food andAgricultureOrganization of theUnitedNations)Soil Map of the World Revised Legend World Soil ResourceReport 60 FAO Rome Italy 1990
[39] NMA (National Meteorological Agency) Gida AyanaWeather Station Rainfall and Temperature Data NMA AsosaEthiopia 2015
[40] G H Bouyoucos ldquoA recalibration of the hydrometer formaking mechanical analysis of soilsrdquo Agricultural Journalsvol 43 pp 434ndash438 1951
[41] V C Jamison H H Weaver and I F Reed ldquoA hammer-driven soil core samplerrdquo Soil Science vol 69 pp 487ndash4961950
[42] T C Barauah and H P Barthakulh A Text Book of SoilAnalysis Vikas Publishing House New Delhi India 1997
[43] S H Chopra and J S Kanwar Analytical AgriculturalChemistry Kalyani Publisher Bengaluru India 1976
[44] D L Rowell Method and Applications Addison WesleyLongman Limited London UK 1994
[45] A Walkley and I A Black ldquoAn examination of the Degtjareffmethod for determining soil organic matter and proposedmodification of the titration methodrdquo Soil Science vol 37pp 29ndash38 1934
[46] J M Bremner and C S Mulvaney ldquoNitrogen-totalrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Part 2 Chemical and MicrobiologicalProperties A L Page R HMiller andD R Keeneypp 595ndash624American Society of AgronomyMadisonWI USA 2nd edition1982
[47] H R Bray and L T Kurtz ldquoDetermination of organic andavailable forms of phosphorus in soilsrdquo Soil Science vol 59no 1 pp 39ndash46 1945
[48] H D Chapman ldquoCation exchange capacity by ammoniumsaturationrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Agronomy Part II No9 CA Black Ed pp 891ndash901 American Society ofAgronomy Madison WI USA 1965
[49] M Pansu and J Gautheyrou Handbook of Soil AnalysisSpringer New York NY USA 2006
[50] S Sertsu and T Bekele ldquoProcedures for soil and plantanalysisrdquo National Soil Research Center Ethiopian Agricul-tural Research Organization (EARO) Addis Ababa EthiopiaTechnical paper 74 2000
[51] C Pisa andMWuta ldquoEvaluation of composting performanceof mixtures of chicken blood and maize stover in HarareZimbabwerdquo International Journal of Recycling of OrganicWaste in Agriculture vol 2 no 1 pp 1ndash11 2013
[52] P M Ndegwa and S A ompson ldquoIntegrating compostingand vermicomposting in the treatment and bioconversion ofsolidsrdquo Bioresource Technology vol 76 pp 107ndash112 2001
[53] J R Okalebo K W Guthua and P J Woomer LaboratoryMethods of Soil and Plant Analysis a Working Manual TSBF-CIAT and SACRED Africa Nairobi Kenya 2002
[54] A D Manson and V Katusic Potato Fertilization in Kwa-zulu-Natal Cedara Report NoNA9724 Cedara Reportsand Publications 1997
[55] M P W Farina and P Chanon ldquoA field comparison of limerequirement indices for maizerdquo Plant and Soil vol 134pp 127ndash135 1991
[56] SAS (Statistical Analysis System) SASSTAT Userrsquos GuideProprietary Software Version 92 SAS Inst Inc Cary NCUSA 2004
[57] J B JonesAgronomic Handbook Management of Crops Soilsand Ceir Fertility CRC Press LLC Boca Raton FL USA2003
[58] T Tadese ldquoSoil plant water fertilizer animal manure andcompost analysisrdquo International Livestock Research centerfor Africa Addis Ababa Ethiopia Working document No 131991
[59] B Clements and I McGowen Strategic Fertilizer Use onPastures NSW Agriculture Agnote Reg 457 Orange NSWAustralia 1994
[60] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) World Reference Base for Soil Resources AFramework for International Classification Correlation andCommunication World Soil Resources Reports No 103 2ndedition 2006
[61] M N Wael V R Leon C Sarina and B Oswald ldquoEffect ofvermicompost on soil and plant properties of coal spoil in theLusatian region (Eastern Germany)rdquo Karl-Liebknecht Strassevol 24-25 p 14476 2011
[62] K Asciutto M C Rivera E R Wright D Morisigue andM V Lopez ldquoEffect of vermicompost on the growth andhealth of Impatiens walleranardquo International Journal of Ex-perimental Botany vol 75 pp 115ndash123 2006
[63] P O Kisinyo S O Gudu C O Othieno et al ldquoEffects of limephosphorus and Rhizobia on Sesbania sesban performance ina Western Kenyan acid soilrdquo African Journal of AgriculturalResearch vol 7 no 18 pp 2800ndash2809 2012
[64] V R Angelova V I Akova N S Artinova and K I Ivanovldquoe effect of organic amendments on soil chemical char-acteristicsrdquo Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science vol 19no 5 pp 958ndash971 2013
[65] P A Opala J R Okalebo and C O Othieno ldquoEffects oforganic and inorganic materials on soil acidity and phos-phorus availability in a soil incubation studyrdquo InternationalScholarly Research Network Agronomy vol 2012 article597216 10 pages 2012
[66] A A Amba E B Agbo N Voncir andM O Oyawoye ldquoEffectof phosphorus fertilizer on some soil chemical properties andnitrogen fixation of legumes at Bauchirdquo Continental Journal ofAgricultural Science vol 5 no 1 pp 39ndash44 2011
[67] E O Adeleye L S Ayeni and S O Ojeniyi ldquoEffect of poultrymanure on soil physicochemical properties leaf nutrientcontents and yield of Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) on Alfisol inSouthwestern Nigeriardquo Journal of American Science vol 6no 10 pp 871ndash878 2010
[68] A Efthimiadou D Bilalis A Karkanis and B Froud-Wil-liams ldquoCombined organicinorganic fertilization enhance soilquality and increased yield photosynthesis and sustainabilityof sweet maize croprdquo Australian Journal of Crop Sciencevol 4 no 9 pp 722ndash729 2010
[69] D D Mary and S Sivagami ldquoEffect of individual andcombined application of bio-fertilisers vermicompost andinorganic fertilizers on soil enzymes and minerals during thepost harvesting stage of chillirdquo Research Journal of Agricultureand Environmental Management vol 3 pp 434ndash441 2014
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[70] M O Anetor and E A Akinrinde ldquoResponse of soybean[Glycine max (L) Merrill] to lime and phosphorus fertilizertreatments on an acidic Alfisol of Nigeriardquo Pakistan Journal ofNutrition vol 5 no 3 pp 286ndash293 2006
[71] P O Kisinyo ldquoMaize response to organic and inorganic soilamendments grown under tropical acidic soil of KenyardquoJournal of Agricultural Science and Food Technology vol 2no 3 pp 35ndash40 2016
[72] P A Opala J R Okalebo C O Othieno and P KisinyoldquoEffects of organic and inorganic phosphorus sources onmaize yields in acid soils of western Kenyardquo Nutrient Cyclingin Agroecosystems vol 86 pp 317ndash329 2010
[73] A Hassan A Mohamad A Abdu R M Idrus andN A Besar ldquoSoil properties under Orthosiphon stamineus(Benth) intercropped with Durio zibethinus (Murr) andtreated with various organic fertilizersrdquo in Proceedings of the19th World Congress of Soil Science Soil Solutions fora Changing World Brisbane Australia August 2010
[74] R Repsiene and R Skuodiene ldquoe influence of liming andorganic fertilization on the changes of some agrochemicalindicators and their relationship with crop weed incidencerdquoZemdirbyste Agriculture vol 97 no 4 pp 3ndash14 2010
[75] L Andric M Rastija T Teklic and V Kovacevic ldquoResponseof maize and soybeans to limingrdquo Turkish Journal of Agri-culture and Forestry vol 36 pp 415ndash420 2012
[76] L S Ayeni and M T Adetunji ldquoIntegrated application ofpoultry manure and mineral fertilizer on soil chemicalproperties nutrient uptake yields and growth components ofmaizerdquo Nature and Science vol 8 no 1 pp 60ndash67 2010
[77] O N Adeniyan A O Ojo O A Akinbode andJ A Adediran ldquoComparative study of different organicmanures and NPK fertilizer for improvement of soil chemicalproperties and dry matter yield of maize in two differentsoilsrdquo Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Managementvol 2 no 1 pp 9ndash13 2011
[78] D C Edmeades ldquoEffects of lime on effective cation exchangecapacity and exchangeable cations on a range of New Zealandsoilsrdquo New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research vol 25no 1 pp 27ndash33 2012
[79] C Pandey and S Shukla ldquoEffects of composted yard waste onwater movement in sandy soilrdquo Compost Science and Utili-zation vol 14 no 4 pp 252ndash259 2006
[80] R Imerb N Bamroongrugsa K Kawashima T Amano andS Kato ldquoUtilization of coal ash to improve acid soilrdquoSongklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology vol 26no 5 pp 697ndash708 2004
[81] D J Walker R Clemente A Roig and M P Bernal ldquoeeffects of soil amendments on heavy metal bioavailability intwo contaminated Mediterranean soilsrdquo Environmental Pol-lution vol 122 pp 303ndash312 2003
[2] S Kenyanjua M L Ireri S Wambua and S M NandwaldquoAcid soils in Kenya constraints and remedial optionsrdquo 2002KARI Technical Note No 11
[3] P O Kisinyo Constraints of soil acidity and nutrient depe-letion on maize (Zea mays L) production in Kenya PhDthesis Moi University Eldoret Kenya PhD thesis 2011
[4] P A Opala P O Kisinyo and R O Nyambati ldquoEffects ofTithonia diversifolia farmyard manure urea and phosphatefertilizer application methods on maize yields in westernKenyardquo Journal of Agriculture of Rural Develoment of Tropicsand Subtropics vol 116 no 1 pp 1ndash9 2015
[5] H Schlede Distribution of acid soils and liming materials inEthiopia Ethiopian Institute of Geological Surveys Ministryof Mines and Energy Addis Ababa Ethiopia 1989
[6] World Bank Staff Appraisal Report National Fertilizer SectorProject Ethiopia 1995 Report No 13722-ET
[7] W Haile and S Boke Mitigation of Soil Acidity and FertilityDecline Challenges for Sustainable Livelihood ImprovementResearch Findings from Southern Region of Ethiopia and ItsPolicy Implications Awassa Agricultural Research InstituteAwassa Ethiopia 2009
[8] M Abebe Ce Nature and Management of Acid Soils inEthiopia Addis Ababa Ethiopia 2007
[9] V Viterello F Capadi and V Stefanuto ldquoRecent advances inAl and resentance in higher plantsrdquo Brazil Plant Physiologyvol 17 no 1 pp 129ndash143 2005
[10] E Ouma D Ligeyo T Matonyei et al ldquoEnhancing maizegrain yield in acid soils of Western Kenya using Al tolerantgermplasmrdquo Journal of Agricultural Science and Technologyvol 3 pp 33ndash46 2013
[11] C e H Calba C Zonkeng E M Ngonkeu andV O Adetimirin ldquoResponse of maize grain yield to changesin acid soil characterstics after soil amendmentrdquo Plant Soilvol 284 pp 45ndash57 2006
[12] M K Yao P K Angui S Konate et al ldquoEffects of land usetypes on soil organic carbon and nitrogen dynamics in mid-west Cote drsquoIvoirerdquo European Journal of Science and Researchvol 40 pp 211ndash222 2010
[13] N Z Lupwayi and I Haque ldquoPhosphorous a prerequisite forincreased productivity of forage and browsefree legumes inthe Ethiopian highlandsrdquo in Proceedings of the Second Con-ference of the Ethiopian Society of Soil Science Addis AbabaEthiopia September 1993
[14] S Boke ldquoSoil phosphorous fractions influenced by differentcropping system in Andosols and Nitisols in Kambata-Tenbaro and Wolaita Zones SNNPRS Ethiopiardquo AlemayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia MSc thesis 2004
[15] P O Kisinyo C O Othieno S O Gudu et al ldquoImmediateand residual effects of lime and phosphorus fertilizer on soilacidity and maize production in western Kenyardquo Experi-mental agriculture vol 50 no 1 pp 128ndash143 2014
[16] A Melese Y Markku and B Yitaferu ldquoEffects of lime woodash manure and mineral P fertilizer rates on acidity relatedchemical properties and growth and P uptake of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) on acid soil of Farta district North-western Highlands of Ethiopiardquo International Journal ofAgriculture and Crop Sciences vol 8 no 2 pp 256ndash269 2015
[17] D Mengesha and L Mekonnen ldquoIntegrated agronomic cropmanagements to improve teff productivity under terminaldroughtrdquo in Water Stress I Md M Rahman andH Hasegawa Eds pp 235ndash254 Intech Open ScienceLondon UK 2012
[18] N Q Arancon C A Edwards R Atiyeh and J D MetzgerldquoEffects of vermicompost produced from food waste on the
growth and yields of greenhouse peppersrdquo Bio-ResourcesTechnology vol 93 no 2 pp 139ndash144 2004
[19] J Dominguez ldquoState of the art and new perspectives onvermicomposting researchrdquo in Earthworm EcologyC A Edwardspp 401ndash424 CRC Press Boca Raton FL USA2nd edition 2004
[20] R M Azarmi T Giglou and R D Taleshmikail ldquoInfluence ofvermicompost on soil chemical and physical properties intomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) fieldrdquo African Journal ofBio-technology vol 7 pp 2397ndash2401 2008
[21] L Angin E L Aksakal T Oztas and A Hanay ldquoEffects ofmunicipal solid waste compost (MSWC) application oncertain physical properties of soils subjected to freeze-thawrdquoSoil Tillage Research vol 130 pp 58ndash61 2013
[22] J Lordan M Pascual and F Fonseca ldquoUse of rice husk toenhance peach tree performance in soil switch limitingphysical propertiesrdquo Soil Tillage and Research vol 129pp 19ndash22 2013
[23] R Abafita ldquoEvaluation of vermicompost on maize pro-ductivity and determine optimum rate for maize productionrdquoWorld Journal of Biology and Medical Sciences vol 3 no 1pp 9ndash22 2016
[24] M R Haj Seyed Hadi M T Darzi Z Ghandehari andG H Riazi ldquoEffects of vermicompost and amino acids on theflower yield and essential oil production from Matricariachamomilla L J of Medrdquo Plants Research vol 5 no 23pp 5611ndash5617 2011
[25] S Suthar ldquoEffect of vermicompost and inorganic fertilizer onwheat (Triticum aestivum) productionrdquo Nature Environ-mental Pollution Technology vol 5 pp 197ndash201 2006
[26] S I Glenda B Ismet K Skender and B Astrit ldquoe influenceof vermicompost on plant growth characteristics of cucumber(Cucumis sativus L) seedlings under saline conditionsrdquoJournal of Food Agriculture and Environmental vol 7pp 869ndash872 2009
[27] R K Sinha S Agarwal K Chaudhan and D Valani ldquoewonders of earthworms and its vermicomposting in farmproduction Charles Darwinrsquos friends of farmersrsquo with po-tential to replace destructive chemical fertilizers from agri-culturerdquo Agricultural Science vol 1 no 2 pp 76ndash94 2010
[28] A Mahajan R M Bhagat and R D Gupta ldquoIntegratednutrient management in sustainable rice-wheat croppingsystem for food security in Indiardquo SAARC Journal of Agri-culture vol 6 no 2 pp 29ndash32 2008
[29] R Singh and S K Agarwal ldquoGrowth and yield of wheat(Triticum aestivum L) as influenced by levels of farmyardmanure and nitrogenrdquo Indian Journal of Agronomy vol 46no 3 pp 462ndash467 2001
[30] G Angachew ldquoAmeliorating effects of organic and inorganicfertilizers on crop productivity and soil properties on reddish-brown soilsrdquo in Proceedings of the 10th Conference of theEthiopian Society of Soil Science pp 127ndash150 Addis AbabaEthiopia March 2009
[31] A F Gafar M Yassin D Ibrahim and S O Yagoob ldquoEffectof different (bio organic and inorganic) fertilizers on someyield components of rice (Oryza sativa L)rdquo Universal Journalof Agricultural Research vol 2 no 2 pp 67ndash70 2014
[32] A Chimdi H Gebrekidan K Kibret and A Tadesse ldquoEffectsof liming on acidity-related chemical properties of soils ofdifferent land use systems in Western Oromia EthiopiardquoWorld Journal of Agricultural Science vol 8 no 6 pp 560ndash567 2012
[33] A Kidanemariam ldquoSoil acidity characterization and effects ofliming and chemical fertilization on dry matter yield and
Applied and Environmental Soil Science 11
nutrient uptake of wheat (Triticum aestivum L) on soils ofTsegede District Northern Ethiopiardquo PhD thesis HaramayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia PhD thesis 2013
[34] B Teshome ldquoEffect of compost lime and P on selectedproperties of acidic soils of Asosardquo Journal of Biology Ag-riculture and Healthcare vol 7 no 5 pp 2224ndash3208 2017
[35] A Abraham Studied Rock Units of Western Ethiopia AddisAbaba EthiopiaGeological Survey Bulletin Note No 305 1990
[36] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) Edited by P Driessen J Deckers andF Nachtergaele Eds Food and Agricultural OrganizationsRome Italy 2001
[37] M AbebeNatures andManagement of Ethiopian Soils AlemayaUniversity of Agriculture Haramaya Ethiopia 1998
[38] FAO (Food andAgricultureOrganization of theUnitedNations)Soil Map of the World Revised Legend World Soil ResourceReport 60 FAO Rome Italy 1990
[39] NMA (National Meteorological Agency) Gida AyanaWeather Station Rainfall and Temperature Data NMA AsosaEthiopia 2015
[40] G H Bouyoucos ldquoA recalibration of the hydrometer formaking mechanical analysis of soilsrdquo Agricultural Journalsvol 43 pp 434ndash438 1951
[41] V C Jamison H H Weaver and I F Reed ldquoA hammer-driven soil core samplerrdquo Soil Science vol 69 pp 487ndash4961950
[42] T C Barauah and H P Barthakulh A Text Book of SoilAnalysis Vikas Publishing House New Delhi India 1997
[43] S H Chopra and J S Kanwar Analytical AgriculturalChemistry Kalyani Publisher Bengaluru India 1976
[44] D L Rowell Method and Applications Addison WesleyLongman Limited London UK 1994
[45] A Walkley and I A Black ldquoAn examination of the Degtjareffmethod for determining soil organic matter and proposedmodification of the titration methodrdquo Soil Science vol 37pp 29ndash38 1934
[46] J M Bremner and C S Mulvaney ldquoNitrogen-totalrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Part 2 Chemical and MicrobiologicalProperties A L Page R HMiller andD R Keeneypp 595ndash624American Society of AgronomyMadisonWI USA 2nd edition1982
[47] H R Bray and L T Kurtz ldquoDetermination of organic andavailable forms of phosphorus in soilsrdquo Soil Science vol 59no 1 pp 39ndash46 1945
[48] H D Chapman ldquoCation exchange capacity by ammoniumsaturationrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Agronomy Part II No9 CA Black Ed pp 891ndash901 American Society ofAgronomy Madison WI USA 1965
[49] M Pansu and J Gautheyrou Handbook of Soil AnalysisSpringer New York NY USA 2006
[50] S Sertsu and T Bekele ldquoProcedures for soil and plantanalysisrdquo National Soil Research Center Ethiopian Agricul-tural Research Organization (EARO) Addis Ababa EthiopiaTechnical paper 74 2000
[51] C Pisa andMWuta ldquoEvaluation of composting performanceof mixtures of chicken blood and maize stover in HarareZimbabwerdquo International Journal of Recycling of OrganicWaste in Agriculture vol 2 no 1 pp 1ndash11 2013
[52] P M Ndegwa and S A ompson ldquoIntegrating compostingand vermicomposting in the treatment and bioconversion ofsolidsrdquo Bioresource Technology vol 76 pp 107ndash112 2001
[53] J R Okalebo K W Guthua and P J Woomer LaboratoryMethods of Soil and Plant Analysis a Working Manual TSBF-CIAT and SACRED Africa Nairobi Kenya 2002
[54] A D Manson and V Katusic Potato Fertilization in Kwa-zulu-Natal Cedara Report NoNA9724 Cedara Reportsand Publications 1997
[55] M P W Farina and P Chanon ldquoA field comparison of limerequirement indices for maizerdquo Plant and Soil vol 134pp 127ndash135 1991
[56] SAS (Statistical Analysis System) SASSTAT Userrsquos GuideProprietary Software Version 92 SAS Inst Inc Cary NCUSA 2004
[57] J B JonesAgronomic Handbook Management of Crops Soilsand Ceir Fertility CRC Press LLC Boca Raton FL USA2003
[58] T Tadese ldquoSoil plant water fertilizer animal manure andcompost analysisrdquo International Livestock Research centerfor Africa Addis Ababa Ethiopia Working document No 131991
[59] B Clements and I McGowen Strategic Fertilizer Use onPastures NSW Agriculture Agnote Reg 457 Orange NSWAustralia 1994
[60] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) World Reference Base for Soil Resources AFramework for International Classification Correlation andCommunication World Soil Resources Reports No 103 2ndedition 2006
[61] M N Wael V R Leon C Sarina and B Oswald ldquoEffect ofvermicompost on soil and plant properties of coal spoil in theLusatian region (Eastern Germany)rdquo Karl-Liebknecht Strassevol 24-25 p 14476 2011
[62] K Asciutto M C Rivera E R Wright D Morisigue andM V Lopez ldquoEffect of vermicompost on the growth andhealth of Impatiens walleranardquo International Journal of Ex-perimental Botany vol 75 pp 115ndash123 2006
[63] P O Kisinyo S O Gudu C O Othieno et al ldquoEffects of limephosphorus and Rhizobia on Sesbania sesban performance ina Western Kenyan acid soilrdquo African Journal of AgriculturalResearch vol 7 no 18 pp 2800ndash2809 2012
[64] V R Angelova V I Akova N S Artinova and K I Ivanovldquoe effect of organic amendments on soil chemical char-acteristicsrdquo Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science vol 19no 5 pp 958ndash971 2013
[65] P A Opala J R Okalebo and C O Othieno ldquoEffects oforganic and inorganic materials on soil acidity and phos-phorus availability in a soil incubation studyrdquo InternationalScholarly Research Network Agronomy vol 2012 article597216 10 pages 2012
[66] A A Amba E B Agbo N Voncir andM O Oyawoye ldquoEffectof phosphorus fertilizer on some soil chemical properties andnitrogen fixation of legumes at Bauchirdquo Continental Journal ofAgricultural Science vol 5 no 1 pp 39ndash44 2011
[67] E O Adeleye L S Ayeni and S O Ojeniyi ldquoEffect of poultrymanure on soil physicochemical properties leaf nutrientcontents and yield of Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) on Alfisol inSouthwestern Nigeriardquo Journal of American Science vol 6no 10 pp 871ndash878 2010
[68] A Efthimiadou D Bilalis A Karkanis and B Froud-Wil-liams ldquoCombined organicinorganic fertilization enhance soilquality and increased yield photosynthesis and sustainabilityof sweet maize croprdquo Australian Journal of Crop Sciencevol 4 no 9 pp 722ndash729 2010
[69] D D Mary and S Sivagami ldquoEffect of individual andcombined application of bio-fertilisers vermicompost andinorganic fertilizers on soil enzymes and minerals during thepost harvesting stage of chillirdquo Research Journal of Agricultureand Environmental Management vol 3 pp 434ndash441 2014
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[70] M O Anetor and E A Akinrinde ldquoResponse of soybean[Glycine max (L) Merrill] to lime and phosphorus fertilizertreatments on an acidic Alfisol of Nigeriardquo Pakistan Journal ofNutrition vol 5 no 3 pp 286ndash293 2006
[71] P O Kisinyo ldquoMaize response to organic and inorganic soilamendments grown under tropical acidic soil of KenyardquoJournal of Agricultural Science and Food Technology vol 2no 3 pp 35ndash40 2016
[72] P A Opala J R Okalebo C O Othieno and P KisinyoldquoEffects of organic and inorganic phosphorus sources onmaize yields in acid soils of western Kenyardquo Nutrient Cyclingin Agroecosystems vol 86 pp 317ndash329 2010
[73] A Hassan A Mohamad A Abdu R M Idrus andN A Besar ldquoSoil properties under Orthosiphon stamineus(Benth) intercropped with Durio zibethinus (Murr) andtreated with various organic fertilizersrdquo in Proceedings of the19th World Congress of Soil Science Soil Solutions fora Changing World Brisbane Australia August 2010
[74] R Repsiene and R Skuodiene ldquoe influence of liming andorganic fertilization on the changes of some agrochemicalindicators and their relationship with crop weed incidencerdquoZemdirbyste Agriculture vol 97 no 4 pp 3ndash14 2010
[75] L Andric M Rastija T Teklic and V Kovacevic ldquoResponseof maize and soybeans to limingrdquo Turkish Journal of Agri-culture and Forestry vol 36 pp 415ndash420 2012
[76] L S Ayeni and M T Adetunji ldquoIntegrated application ofpoultry manure and mineral fertilizer on soil chemicalproperties nutrient uptake yields and growth components ofmaizerdquo Nature and Science vol 8 no 1 pp 60ndash67 2010
[77] O N Adeniyan A O Ojo O A Akinbode andJ A Adediran ldquoComparative study of different organicmanures and NPK fertilizer for improvement of soil chemicalproperties and dry matter yield of maize in two differentsoilsrdquo Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Managementvol 2 no 1 pp 9ndash13 2011
[78] D C Edmeades ldquoEffects of lime on effective cation exchangecapacity and exchangeable cations on a range of New Zealandsoilsrdquo New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research vol 25no 1 pp 27ndash33 2012
[79] C Pandey and S Shukla ldquoEffects of composted yard waste onwater movement in sandy soilrdquo Compost Science and Utili-zation vol 14 no 4 pp 252ndash259 2006
[80] R Imerb N Bamroongrugsa K Kawashima T Amano andS Kato ldquoUtilization of coal ash to improve acid soilrdquoSongklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology vol 26no 5 pp 697ndash708 2004
[81] D J Walker R Clemente A Roig and M P Bernal ldquoeeffects of soil amendments on heavy metal bioavailability intwo contaminated Mediterranean soilsrdquo Environmental Pol-lution vol 122 pp 303ndash312 2003
nutrient uptake of wheat (Triticum aestivum L) on soils ofTsegede District Northern Ethiopiardquo PhD thesis HaramayaUniversity Haramaya Ethiopia PhD thesis 2013
[34] B Teshome ldquoEffect of compost lime and P on selectedproperties of acidic soils of Asosardquo Journal of Biology Ag-riculture and Healthcare vol 7 no 5 pp 2224ndash3208 2017
[35] A Abraham Studied Rock Units of Western Ethiopia AddisAbaba EthiopiaGeological Survey Bulletin Note No 305 1990
[36] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) Edited by P Driessen J Deckers andF Nachtergaele Eds Food and Agricultural OrganizationsRome Italy 2001
[37] M AbebeNatures andManagement of Ethiopian Soils AlemayaUniversity of Agriculture Haramaya Ethiopia 1998
[38] FAO (Food andAgricultureOrganization of theUnitedNations)Soil Map of the World Revised Legend World Soil ResourceReport 60 FAO Rome Italy 1990
[39] NMA (National Meteorological Agency) Gida AyanaWeather Station Rainfall and Temperature Data NMA AsosaEthiopia 2015
[40] G H Bouyoucos ldquoA recalibration of the hydrometer formaking mechanical analysis of soilsrdquo Agricultural Journalsvol 43 pp 434ndash438 1951
[41] V C Jamison H H Weaver and I F Reed ldquoA hammer-driven soil core samplerrdquo Soil Science vol 69 pp 487ndash4961950
[42] T C Barauah and H P Barthakulh A Text Book of SoilAnalysis Vikas Publishing House New Delhi India 1997
[43] S H Chopra and J S Kanwar Analytical AgriculturalChemistry Kalyani Publisher Bengaluru India 1976
[44] D L Rowell Method and Applications Addison WesleyLongman Limited London UK 1994
[45] A Walkley and I A Black ldquoAn examination of the Degtjareffmethod for determining soil organic matter and proposedmodification of the titration methodrdquo Soil Science vol 37pp 29ndash38 1934
[46] J M Bremner and C S Mulvaney ldquoNitrogen-totalrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Part 2 Chemical and MicrobiologicalProperties A L Page R HMiller andD R Keeneypp 595ndash624American Society of AgronomyMadisonWI USA 2nd edition1982
[47] H R Bray and L T Kurtz ldquoDetermination of organic andavailable forms of phosphorus in soilsrdquo Soil Science vol 59no 1 pp 39ndash46 1945
[48] H D Chapman ldquoCation exchange capacity by ammoniumsaturationrdquo inMethods of Soil Analysis Agronomy Part II No9 CA Black Ed pp 891ndash901 American Society ofAgronomy Madison WI USA 1965
[49] M Pansu and J Gautheyrou Handbook of Soil AnalysisSpringer New York NY USA 2006
[50] S Sertsu and T Bekele ldquoProcedures for soil and plantanalysisrdquo National Soil Research Center Ethiopian Agricul-tural Research Organization (EARO) Addis Ababa EthiopiaTechnical paper 74 2000
[51] C Pisa andMWuta ldquoEvaluation of composting performanceof mixtures of chicken blood and maize stover in HarareZimbabwerdquo International Journal of Recycling of OrganicWaste in Agriculture vol 2 no 1 pp 1ndash11 2013
[52] P M Ndegwa and S A ompson ldquoIntegrating compostingand vermicomposting in the treatment and bioconversion ofsolidsrdquo Bioresource Technology vol 76 pp 107ndash112 2001
[53] J R Okalebo K W Guthua and P J Woomer LaboratoryMethods of Soil and Plant Analysis a Working Manual TSBF-CIAT and SACRED Africa Nairobi Kenya 2002
[54] A D Manson and V Katusic Potato Fertilization in Kwa-zulu-Natal Cedara Report NoNA9724 Cedara Reportsand Publications 1997
[55] M P W Farina and P Chanon ldquoA field comparison of limerequirement indices for maizerdquo Plant and Soil vol 134pp 127ndash135 1991
[56] SAS (Statistical Analysis System) SASSTAT Userrsquos GuideProprietary Software Version 92 SAS Inst Inc Cary NCUSA 2004
[57] J B JonesAgronomic Handbook Management of Crops Soilsand Ceir Fertility CRC Press LLC Boca Raton FL USA2003
[58] T Tadese ldquoSoil plant water fertilizer animal manure andcompost analysisrdquo International Livestock Research centerfor Africa Addis Ababa Ethiopia Working document No 131991
[59] B Clements and I McGowen Strategic Fertilizer Use onPastures NSW Agriculture Agnote Reg 457 Orange NSWAustralia 1994
[60] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UnitedNations) World Reference Base for Soil Resources AFramework for International Classification Correlation andCommunication World Soil Resources Reports No 103 2ndedition 2006
[61] M N Wael V R Leon C Sarina and B Oswald ldquoEffect ofvermicompost on soil and plant properties of coal spoil in theLusatian region (Eastern Germany)rdquo Karl-Liebknecht Strassevol 24-25 p 14476 2011
[62] K Asciutto M C Rivera E R Wright D Morisigue andM V Lopez ldquoEffect of vermicompost on the growth andhealth of Impatiens walleranardquo International Journal of Ex-perimental Botany vol 75 pp 115ndash123 2006
[63] P O Kisinyo S O Gudu C O Othieno et al ldquoEffects of limephosphorus and Rhizobia on Sesbania sesban performance ina Western Kenyan acid soilrdquo African Journal of AgriculturalResearch vol 7 no 18 pp 2800ndash2809 2012
[64] V R Angelova V I Akova N S Artinova and K I Ivanovldquoe effect of organic amendments on soil chemical char-acteristicsrdquo Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science vol 19no 5 pp 958ndash971 2013
[65] P A Opala J R Okalebo and C O Othieno ldquoEffects oforganic and inorganic materials on soil acidity and phos-phorus availability in a soil incubation studyrdquo InternationalScholarly Research Network Agronomy vol 2012 article597216 10 pages 2012
[66] A A Amba E B Agbo N Voncir andM O Oyawoye ldquoEffectof phosphorus fertilizer on some soil chemical properties andnitrogen fixation of legumes at Bauchirdquo Continental Journal ofAgricultural Science vol 5 no 1 pp 39ndash44 2011
[67] E O Adeleye L S Ayeni and S O Ojeniyi ldquoEffect of poultrymanure on soil physicochemical properties leaf nutrientcontents and yield of Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) on Alfisol inSouthwestern Nigeriardquo Journal of American Science vol 6no 10 pp 871ndash878 2010
[68] A Efthimiadou D Bilalis A Karkanis and B Froud-Wil-liams ldquoCombined organicinorganic fertilization enhance soilquality and increased yield photosynthesis and sustainabilityof sweet maize croprdquo Australian Journal of Crop Sciencevol 4 no 9 pp 722ndash729 2010
[69] D D Mary and S Sivagami ldquoEffect of individual andcombined application of bio-fertilisers vermicompost andinorganic fertilizers on soil enzymes and minerals during thepost harvesting stage of chillirdquo Research Journal of Agricultureand Environmental Management vol 3 pp 434ndash441 2014
12 Applied and Environmental Soil Science
[70] M O Anetor and E A Akinrinde ldquoResponse of soybean[Glycine max (L) Merrill] to lime and phosphorus fertilizertreatments on an acidic Alfisol of Nigeriardquo Pakistan Journal ofNutrition vol 5 no 3 pp 286ndash293 2006
[71] P O Kisinyo ldquoMaize response to organic and inorganic soilamendments grown under tropical acidic soil of KenyardquoJournal of Agricultural Science and Food Technology vol 2no 3 pp 35ndash40 2016
[72] P A Opala J R Okalebo C O Othieno and P KisinyoldquoEffects of organic and inorganic phosphorus sources onmaize yields in acid soils of western Kenyardquo Nutrient Cyclingin Agroecosystems vol 86 pp 317ndash329 2010
[73] A Hassan A Mohamad A Abdu R M Idrus andN A Besar ldquoSoil properties under Orthosiphon stamineus(Benth) intercropped with Durio zibethinus (Murr) andtreated with various organic fertilizersrdquo in Proceedings of the19th World Congress of Soil Science Soil Solutions fora Changing World Brisbane Australia August 2010
[74] R Repsiene and R Skuodiene ldquoe influence of liming andorganic fertilization on the changes of some agrochemicalindicators and their relationship with crop weed incidencerdquoZemdirbyste Agriculture vol 97 no 4 pp 3ndash14 2010
[75] L Andric M Rastija T Teklic and V Kovacevic ldquoResponseof maize and soybeans to limingrdquo Turkish Journal of Agri-culture and Forestry vol 36 pp 415ndash420 2012
[76] L S Ayeni and M T Adetunji ldquoIntegrated application ofpoultry manure and mineral fertilizer on soil chemicalproperties nutrient uptake yields and growth components ofmaizerdquo Nature and Science vol 8 no 1 pp 60ndash67 2010
[77] O N Adeniyan A O Ojo O A Akinbode andJ A Adediran ldquoComparative study of different organicmanures and NPK fertilizer for improvement of soil chemicalproperties and dry matter yield of maize in two differentsoilsrdquo Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Managementvol 2 no 1 pp 9ndash13 2011
[78] D C Edmeades ldquoEffects of lime on effective cation exchangecapacity and exchangeable cations on a range of New Zealandsoilsrdquo New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research vol 25no 1 pp 27ndash33 2012
[79] C Pandey and S Shukla ldquoEffects of composted yard waste onwater movement in sandy soilrdquo Compost Science and Utili-zation vol 14 no 4 pp 252ndash259 2006
[80] R Imerb N Bamroongrugsa K Kawashima T Amano andS Kato ldquoUtilization of coal ash to improve acid soilrdquoSongklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology vol 26no 5 pp 697ndash708 2004
[81] D J Walker R Clemente A Roig and M P Bernal ldquoeeffects of soil amendments on heavy metal bioavailability intwo contaminated Mediterranean soilsrdquo Environmental Pol-lution vol 122 pp 303ndash312 2003
[70] M O Anetor and E A Akinrinde ldquoResponse of soybean[Glycine max (L) Merrill] to lime and phosphorus fertilizertreatments on an acidic Alfisol of Nigeriardquo Pakistan Journal ofNutrition vol 5 no 3 pp 286ndash293 2006
[71] P O Kisinyo ldquoMaize response to organic and inorganic soilamendments grown under tropical acidic soil of KenyardquoJournal of Agricultural Science and Food Technology vol 2no 3 pp 35ndash40 2016
[72] P A Opala J R Okalebo C O Othieno and P KisinyoldquoEffects of organic and inorganic phosphorus sources onmaize yields in acid soils of western Kenyardquo Nutrient Cyclingin Agroecosystems vol 86 pp 317ndash329 2010
[73] A Hassan A Mohamad A Abdu R M Idrus andN A Besar ldquoSoil properties under Orthosiphon stamineus(Benth) intercropped with Durio zibethinus (Murr) andtreated with various organic fertilizersrdquo in Proceedings of the19th World Congress of Soil Science Soil Solutions fora Changing World Brisbane Australia August 2010
[74] R Repsiene and R Skuodiene ldquoe influence of liming andorganic fertilization on the changes of some agrochemicalindicators and their relationship with crop weed incidencerdquoZemdirbyste Agriculture vol 97 no 4 pp 3ndash14 2010
[75] L Andric M Rastija T Teklic and V Kovacevic ldquoResponseof maize and soybeans to limingrdquo Turkish Journal of Agri-culture and Forestry vol 36 pp 415ndash420 2012
[76] L S Ayeni and M T Adetunji ldquoIntegrated application ofpoultry manure and mineral fertilizer on soil chemicalproperties nutrient uptake yields and growth components ofmaizerdquo Nature and Science vol 8 no 1 pp 60ndash67 2010
[77] O N Adeniyan A O Ojo O A Akinbode andJ A Adediran ldquoComparative study of different organicmanures and NPK fertilizer for improvement of soil chemicalproperties and dry matter yield of maize in two differentsoilsrdquo Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Managementvol 2 no 1 pp 9ndash13 2011
[78] D C Edmeades ldquoEffects of lime on effective cation exchangecapacity and exchangeable cations on a range of New Zealandsoilsrdquo New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research vol 25no 1 pp 27ndash33 2012
[79] C Pandey and S Shukla ldquoEffects of composted yard waste onwater movement in sandy soilrdquo Compost Science and Utili-zation vol 14 no 4 pp 252ndash259 2006
[80] R Imerb N Bamroongrugsa K Kawashima T Amano andS Kato ldquoUtilization of coal ash to improve acid soilrdquoSongklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology vol 26no 5 pp 697ndash708 2004
[81] D J Walker R Clemente A Roig and M P Bernal ldquoeeffects of soil amendments on heavy metal bioavailability intwo contaminated Mediterranean soilsrdquo Environmental Pol-lution vol 122 pp 303ndash312 2003
