Everything about Manure totally explained
Manure is
organic matter used as
fertilizer in
agriculture. Manures contribute to the fertility of the soil by adding organic matter and
nutrients, such as
nitrogen that's trapped by
bacteria in the soil. Higher organisms then feed on the
fungi and bacteria in a chain of life that comprises the
soil food web.
The term "manure" was used for inorganic
fertilizers in the past, but this usage is now very rare.
Etymology
The word
manure came from
Middle English "manuren" meaning "to cultivate land," and initially from
French "main-oeuvre" = "hand work" alluding to the work which involved manuring land.
Types
There are two main classes of manures in
soil management:
green manures and animal manures.
Compost is distinguished from manure in that it's the
decomposed remnants of organic materials (which may, nevertheless, include manure).
Most animal manure is
feces —
excrement of plant-eating
mammals (
herbivores) and
poultry — or plant material (often straw) which has been used as bedding for animals and thus is heavily contaminated with their feces and
urine.
Green manures are crops grown for the express purpose of
plowing them under. In so doing, fertility is increased through the nutrients and organic matter that are returned to the soil.
Leguminous crops, such as clover, also "fix" nitrogen through
rhizobia bacteria in specialized
nodes in the root structure.
Other types of plant matter used as manure or fertilizer include: the contents of the
rumens of slaughtered
ruminants; spent
hops left over from making
beer.
Uses of manure
Manure has been used for centuries as a
fertilizer for
farming, as it's rich in
nitrogen and other nutrients which facilitate the growth of plants. Liquid manure from pig/hog operations is usually knifed (injected) directly into the soil to reduce the unpleasant odors. Manure from hogs and cattle is spread on fields using a Manure spreader. Due to the relatively lower level of proteins in grasses, which
herbivores eat, cattle manure has a milder smell than the dung of carnivores — for example, elephant dung is practically odorless. However, due to the quantity of manure applied to fields, odor can be a problem in some agricultural regions. Poultry droppings are harmful to plants when fresh but after a period of
composting are valuable fertilizers.
The
dried manure of animals has been used as
fuel throughout history. Dried manure (usually known as dung) of
cow was, and still is, an important fuel source in countries such as
India, while
camel dung may be used in treeless regions such as deserts. On the
Oregon Trail, pioneering families collected large quantities of "buffalo chips" in lieu of scarce firewood. It has been used for many purposes, in cooking fires and to combat the cold
desert nights.
Another use of manure is to make paper, this has been done with dung from
elephants where it's a small industry in Africa and Asia, and also
horses,
llamas, and
kangaroos. Other than the llama, these animals are not
ruminants and thus tend to pass plant fibres undigested in their dung.
Precautions
Manure generates
heat as it decomposes, and it isn't unheard of for manure to
ignite spontaneously should it be stored in a massive pile. Once such a large pile of manure is burning, it'll
foul the air over a very large area and require considerable effort to extinguish. Large
feedlots must therefore take care to ensure that piles of fresh manure (faeces) don't get excessively large. There is no serious risk of spontaneous combustion in smaller operations.
There is also a risk of insects carrying feces to food and water supplies, making them unsuitable for human consumption.
Livestock antibiotics and hormones
In 2007, a University of Minnesota study
indicated that foods such as corn, lettuce and potatoes have been
found to accumulate antibiotics from soils spread with animal manure
that contains these drugs, and organic foods are most likely to
contain these drugs because manure is often the main source of crop
nutrients for organic food production.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Manure'.
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