Potencial of physical recovery of a red latosol, under degraded pasture, as affected by the apllication of chicken manure

Poultry facilities generate great amount of residues rich in nutrients, which may be used by farmers to fertilize their crops. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the fertilization with chicken manure on the physical recovery of the structure of a Latosol. The experiment was carried out in a loamy typic dystrophic Red Latosol, at Brachiaria decumbens Stapf. degraded pastureland. The treatments were: 0; 1,200; 2,400; 4,800 kg ha(-1) of chicken manure; and 2,400 kg ha(-1) of chicken manure + chemical fertilizer with 36 kg ha(-1) N; 60 kg ha(-1) of K2O; and 60 kg ha(-1) of P2O5. The treatments were applied in January 2004. Sixty and 210 days after, the soil was sampled at the 0-20 and 20-40 cm depths. The physical attributes measured were: water dispersible clay, flocculation index, bulk density and total porosity. The water dispersible clay decreased with the increase of the dosage of manure applied; there was an increase in the flocculation index as the manure doses increased. There was a small reduction in soil bulk density and total porosity with the application of manure. The soil physical attributes evaluated were greatly affected by applications of chicken manure in the dose range of 2,666 to 3,750 kg ha(-1).