Effects of Cheese Whey on Some Chemical and Physical Properties of Calcareous and Clay Soils

Abstract

Cheese whey is the main by-products generated by the cheese industry. It is acidic and rich in organic matter and nutrients which makes it ideal candidate to use as soil amendment. Incubation experiment was conducted to assess the potential of using cheese whey to increase soil fertility in calcareous and clay soils. Amendments were six levels of mozzarella cheese whey; 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5% (oven dry weight basis). Cheese whey were applied to the tested soils, placed in pots and incubated aerobically under field capacity and field conditions for three months. After incubation, selected soil chemical parameters were measured, the cumulative water evaporation was measured as well. The electrical conductivity (EC) of the whey treated soil increased slightly in comparison to the initial EC in both soils. While, soil OM, available N, available P, and available K were significantly increased by all application rates compared to the control in both tested soils. The increase range was from 84 to 300% for OM; 10 to 136% for N; 40 to 155% for P; and 71 to 157% for K in clay soil. However, in calcareous soil, the range was from 17 to 177% for OM; 9 to 93% for N; 120 to 584% for P; and 175 to 550% for K. The soil pH decreased with increasing levels of cheese whey from 8.10 to 7.54 in clay soil and from 8.21 to 7.87 in calcareous soil. Suggesting that cheese whey was effective at adding OM, N, P, and K to soils while decreasing the soil’s pH. The cumulative evaporation increased with time in both soils. The application of whey to the clay soils reduced the cumulative evaporation but it did not exhibit a trend in the calcareous soils. The use of cheese whey therefore in agricultural production provides an economic and environmentally friendly method of disposal, while improving soil fertility.