Effect of Compost on Some Soil Physical Properties and Forage Yield of Sudan grass and Sorghum in Desert Soil of Northern State, Sudan

In Sudan forage production is very important because the forage is basic source of energy for growth and maintenance and product increment of livestock. Compost has positive effect on plant growth and yield due to its high organic matter content which improved soil physical and biological properties. This study was conducted for two consecutive summer seasons; 2017/18 and 2018/19, at the Research Farm of the National Institute of Desert Studies, New, Hamdab Scheme, Northern State of Sudan. The objective was to study the effect of compost manure on some soil physical properties and forage yield of Sudan grass and Marage in the desert soil. The experimental materials include Sudan grass (S) and Marage (M). Seed rate of (50 and 60) kg ha-1 were used for Sudan grass and Marage, respectively. Crops were grown under three levels of compost 0, 5 and 10 tons per hectare. Soil physical properties measured were, soil bulk density, soil total porosity and soil moisture content, whereas plant growth parameters measured were; plant population, plant height, number of tillers per plant, leaves fresh weight, stem fresh weight, plant fresh weight, leaf area per plant, leaf area index and fresh forage yield. The experimental design was randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replicates. Data were subjected to standard procedure of analysis of variance. Means were separated using Duncan's Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at 5% significance level. The result showed that, compost application obtained very highly significant effect (P ≤ 0.001) decreased soil dry bulk density on the average across the two seasons varied from 1.77 g cm-3 for the control to 1.41 g cm-3 in the compost treatments and increased soil moisture content on the average across both seasons varied from 9.1% in the control to 18.2 % in the compost treatments and also, and increased soil porosity on the average across both seasons varied from 32.2% in the control to 46.6 % in the compost treatments. The results also showed that compost significantly improved forage yield and its components. Highest fresh forage yield of (61.4 and 60.5) tons/hectare during first and seconds seasons, respectively were achieved by Sudan grass, using 10 tons per hectare compost, which indicated clear advantages of compost. It is recommended to use 10 Tons/ha compost with Sudan grass.