Effect of Enriched Sheep Manure Rates on Physico-Chemical Parameters of Tea Soil in Timbilil Tea Estate, Kericho, Kenya

The regular harvesting of tea (two leaves and a bud) implies that nutrients are continuously mined from the soil. On the other hand, integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) which involves the combined use of organic and inorganic fertiliser is good for improved soil health. Therefore, the study was carried out to determine the effect of enriched sheep manure rates on physico-chemical parameters of tea soil. An ongoing field trial in Timbilil Tea Estate in Kericho started in 1985 to study the response of sheep manure, NPK 25:5:5 and a combination of both on tea plants were used. The trial was set up in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replicates. Forty-two composite soil samples were collected randomly from each of the experimental plots. The data collection process included soil sampling during the short rain season in 2017 and annual tea yield sampling. The samples were analysed for the total organic matter, nitrogen content, bulk density, porosity, soil pΗ, porosity, particle density and soil moisture content. Results showed that fertiliser types significantly (p<0.05) affected SOM with enriched sheep manure giving the highest values. Fertiliser rates had no significant (p>0.05) difference on SOM. Fertiliser application at the highest rate of 240 kg N/ha had the lowest SOM content, which means high fertiliser application, causes more harm than good. Therefore, enriched manures increase SOM content in the soil which could improve productivity in the tea industry.