Soil and Leachate Water Quality Under Different Nutrient Treatments in Kentucky Corn

A 2024-2025 study at Kentucky State University's Harold R. Benson Research Demonstration Farm assessed short-term impacts of dairy manure, composted dairy manure, and synthetic fertilizers. Soil and leachate water samples were collected from a 4047 m² field with four replications over a growing season. Author Sandeep Airee published the findings under a CC-BY-4.0 license in 2026.

Use Cases

• Compare soil health metrics like aggregation and organic matter content based on manure versus synthetic fertilizer treatments.
• Analyze leachate water contamination by tracking nitrate and phosphate concentrations at different soil depths over time.
• Model the short-term impacts of compost application on soil specific surface area and pH.
• Assess temporal variation in soil compaction and electrical conductivity under different nutrient amendments.

Strengths

• Field data from a 4047 m² experimental plot with four replications per treatment.
• Analysis includes a suite of soil physicochemical parameters and leachate water nutrients, pH, and EC.
• Specific quantitative results are reported, such as manure increasing soil organic matter by 40% compared to fertilizer.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The description notes the study period was short-term, with longer time needed to understand full effects.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Field experiment with random treatment application, soil sampling via bulk density core samplers, and leachate collection via suction cup lysimeters.

Time Range

2024-2025

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-07 07:37:10; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Harold R. Benson Research Demonstration Farm, Kentucky, USA