ISSN 2375-1231
African Journal of Crop Science Vol. 2 (5), pp. 098-101, September, 2014. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Improvement on grass establishment at a quarry rehabilitation site influenced by poultry manure in the subtropical South Africa
Lule E. Nelson, Oliver R. Khama and Kaiser Cedric
Department of plant and crop science, Faculty of Science and Agriculture, University of Fort Hare, East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa. E-mail: nelson15@gmail.com
Accepted 02 August, 2014
Abstract
The rehabilitation of a quarry was conducted with selected grass species in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The seed cocktail applied contained Chloris gayana, Cynodon dactylon, Digitaria eriantha, Eragrostis curvula, Panicum maximum and Paspalum distichum. Three treatments used were: No soil enhancement (control), poultry manure application, and commercial fertilizer application. Four months after sowing, the percentage grass cover per 1 m2 of treatment was 33% for the control, 65% where manure was applied and 76% with fertilizer application. Both fertilizer and manure applications promoted the colonization of grass species. Fertilizer application significantly increased biomass of grass (P 0.05). Poultry manure resulted in higher biomass of approximately 5 g per m2 more than the control; however the mean was not significantly different from the control (P 0.05). These results suggest that fertilizer application prior to seed sowing in a rehabilitated quarry provide the highest biomass after four months. The application of poultry manure proved to be a cheaper option to increase aboveground plant cover in a rehabilitated area, but it is less effective than fertilizer in terms of biomass production.
Key words: Quarry, vegetation, restoration, biomass, grassland.