manure

 

term used in the United States to refer to excreta of animals, with or without added bedding; also called barnyard manure. In other countries the term often refers to any material used to fertilize the soil. Properly managed, barnyard manure is a valuable fertilizer because of its nitrogen and phosphate content; its composition varies greatly depending upon the animals that produce it. Often it is reinforced with additions of superphosphate to make it a better balanced fertilizer and to reduce the loss of nitrogen as ammonia. Other organic manures are fish scrap, guano, seaweed, and compost. The claim by so-called organic farmers that crops fertilized by organic manures are more nutritious than those grown with artificial manures (i.e., chemical fertilizers) has not been substantiated. The term green manure is applied to crops grown for plowing under (see cover crop) and to manure that has not undergone decay.

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 is 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.^[1]

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 is the decomposed remnants of organic materials (which may, nevertheless, include manure).

Most animal manure is feces — excrement (variously called "droppings" or "crap" etc) 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 is 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 is 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 is not 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 will 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) do not 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.

See also

• Album graecum
• Biofuel
• Biomass
• Cow dung
• Ecological sanitation

Notes

Further reading

• Anderson, S., and F. Ertug-Yaras. (1998.). "Fuel fodder and faeces: an ethnographic and botanical study of dung fuel use in central Anatolia.". Environmental Archaeology 1: 99-109. 
• Charles, M. P. (1998.). "Fodder from dung: the recognition and interpretation of dung derived plant material from archaeological sites". Environmental Archaeology 1: 111-122. 
• Fenton, Alexander (1985). "A fuel of necessity: animal manure". Alexander Fenton The Shape of the Past. Essays in Scottish Ethnology: 96-111, Edinburgh: John Donald. 
• Miller, N. F. (1984.). "The use of dung as fuel: an ethnographic example and an archaeological application". Paléorient 10: 71-79. 
• Winterhalder, B., R. Larsen, and R. B. Thomas. (1974.). "Dung as an essential resource in a highland Peruvian community". Human Ecology 2: 89-104. 

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