# Effect of Poultry and Goat Manures on the Nutrient Content of _Sesammum altatum_ Leaf Vegetables
## 2 Materials and Methods
### Soil and Manure Analysis  
Soil or manure samples were air-dried at room temperature, after which they were spread out in drying trays and air was forced over them. When dry, the samples were crushed between rubber belts on a soil or manure crusher and passed through a 1 mm sieve. Material coarser than 1 mm that cannot be crushed (such as stones, gravel, and corrections) were discarded. Samples were scooped into trays which each contained 11 PVC cups (capacity 70 mL); a tray was used for nine unknown samples, one standard sample (for quality control), and one blank. For operations such as dispensing and stirring and for quality control, batches of three trays (27 samples, three unknowns, and three blanks) were used. Multiple dispensers and diluter/dispensers were used to dispense aliquots of extractant or reagent to three samples at a time. Soil or manure samples were analysed on a volume rather than a mass basis. To enable the conversion of the results to a mass basis, the mass of a 10 mL scoop of a dried and milled sample was measured and the calculated sample density was reported. For the determination of pH, 10 mL of soil or manure was scooped into sample cups. Then, 25 mL of 1 \(M\) KCl solution was added, and the suspension was stirred at 400 revolutions per minute (r.p.m.) for 5 min using a multiple stirrer. The suspension was allowed to stand for about 30 min, and the pH was measured using a gel-filled combination glass electrode while stirring. De-ionised water was substituted for the 1 \(M\) KCl solution if pH (water) was required. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline \multirow{2}{*}{**Available Nutrients**} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**Season One**} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**Season Two**} \\ \cline{2-7}  & **Soil** & **Manures** & **Soil** & **Manures** & \\ \cline{2-7}  & **Sandy-Loam** & **Poultry** & **Goat** & **Sandy-Loam** & **Poultry** & **Goat** \\ \hline Organic carbon (\%) & 0.5 & \textgreater{}6 & \textgreater{}6 & 0.6 & \textgreater{}6 & \textgreater{}6 \\ Nitrogen (\%) & \textgreater{}0.05 & \textgreater{}0.6 & \textgreater{}0.6 & \textgreater{}0.05 & \textgreater{}0.6 & \textgreater{}0.6 \\ Phosphorus (mg L\({}^{-1}\)) & 5.00 & 890.00 & 350.00 & 15.00 & 940.00 & 500.00 \\ Potassium (mg L\({}^{-1}\)) & 32.00 & 4076.00 & 2216.00 & 58.00 & 2656.00 & 12,696.00 \\ Calcium (mg L\({}^{-1}\)) & 337.00 & 791.00 & 2966.00 & 340.00 & 1241.00 & 1773.00 \\ Magnesium (mg L\({}^{-1}\)) & 112.00 & 574.00 & 857.00 & 94.00 & 997.00 & 857.00 \\ Zinc (mg L\({}^{-1}\)) & 1.50 & 72.20 & 29.30 & 6.40 & 59.00 & 18.20 \\ Manganese (mg L\({}^{-1}\)) & 26.00 & 62.00 & 25.00 & 31.00 & 37.00 & 10.00 \\ Copper (mg L\({}^{-1}\)) & 0.80 & 4.90 & 0.90 & 3.70 & 4.20 & 0.80 \\ pH (KCl) & 4.68 & 7.70 & 7.19 & 4.63 & 7.06 & 7.54 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Available nutrient content, pH, organic carbon and total nitrogen of soil and manure used in this study. _Extractable (1 M KCl) calcium and magnesium_: A total of 2.5 mL of soil or manure was scooped into sample cups. Then, 25 mL of 1 \(M\) KCl solution was added, and the suspension was stirred at 400 r.p.m. for 10 min using a multiple stirrer. The extracts were filtered using Whatman No.1 paper. A total of 5 mL of the filtrate was diluted with 20 mL of 0.0356 \(M\) SrCl\({}_{2}\), and Ca and Mg determined by atomic absorption. To determine extractable acidity, 10 mL of the filtrate was diluted with 10 mL of de-ionised water containing 2-4 drops of phenolphthalein and titrated with 0.005 \(M\) NaOH. _Extractable (Ambic-2) phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese_: The Ambic-2 extracting solution consisted of 0.25 \(M\) NH\({}_{4}\)CO\({}_{3}\) + 0.01 \(M\) Na\({}_{2}\)EDTA + 0.01 \(M\) NH\({}_{4}\)F + 0.05 g L\({}^{-1}\) Superfloc (N100), adjusted to pH 8 with a concentrated ammonia solution. An amount of 25 mL of this solution was added to 2.5 mL soil, and the suspension was stirred at 400 r.p.m. for 10 min using a multiple stirrer. The extracts were filtered using Whatman No.1 paper.