Effect of Soil Texture on Maize Response to Urine Application in Northern Malawi

ABSTRACT Crop responses to the application of urine fertilizer and ecosan manure may differ significantly in heterogeneous soils. Insufficient knowledge of the influence of soil texture on crop response to urine application and ecosan manure constitutes a knowledge gap that results in suboptimal crop yields. A detailed study of variations in soil texture and their interactions with urine fertilizer and ecosan manure is crucial for enhancing crop yield. The current study used a field experiment to quantify the response of maize to the application of urine fertilizer to soils with varying textures. A total of four treatments were used—chemical fertilizer (CF), urine fertilizer (U), ecosan (E), and control (C), which were replicated thrice in a completely randomized block design. Three sites with contrasting clay contents of 23%, 15%, and 10%, referred to as clay, intermediate, and sand sites, respectively, were used in the experiment. Plant biomass was measured a week after topdressing fertilizer application and harvesting. Soil physicochemical analysis was conducted to determine plant nutrient uptake and efficiency under various treatments. Maize grain yields ranged between 0.6 and 6.0 Mg ha − 1 across treatments. The U and CF treatments performed similarly at the clay site, whereas maize yield differed significantly between CF and U at the sandy site. Due to high water permeability, sandy soils lose nitrogen through leaching and volatilization, limiting nitrogen availability for plant growth. Soil texture therefore strongly influences urine fertilizer effectiveness on maize performance. This shows that soil texture needs to be considered when promoting urine fertilizer.