Effect of Manurial Treatments on: (III) Water-stable Aggregate and Physical Properties of the Soil

Abstract

ORGANIC matter decomposition in soil and its relation to soil and water conservation, nitrification, as well as increased crop production, has received con-siderable attention: From the voluminous literature on the effect of organic matter on soil fertility it is evident that the type of soil, microbial population, nature and the amount of organic matter and climate are the major factors responsible for the fertility of the soil. Part of the favourable effect of organic matter towards soil fertility is due to the contribution of the improved physical properties of the soil. It is generally ac-cepted that incorporation of organic matter to the soil increases aggregation which in its part improves the filth and air-water relation-ship in soil. It is quite logical that increased soil fertility brought about with the incor-poration of organic matter to the soil micro-biological population, soil aggregation and other physical properties are all interrelated to each other and thus the increased soil fertility is due to the combined effort of all these factors.