Effect of integration of poultry manure and vinasse on the abundance and diversity of soil fauna, soil fertility index, and barley growth in calcareous soils

Abstract In Egypt, calcareous soils represent a large part of desert soils suffering from a shortage of nutrients and organic matter, which affects production and biological diversity in agroecosystems. Organic wastes, which negatively affect the environment, recycle it as a promising technology in different farming systems, and its impact on production and soil fauna is largely unknown. We investigated the effects of integrating poultry manure (P) with vinasse (V) at different rates on the diversity of soil fauna and barley growth (Hordeum aestivm) grown in calcareous soil. The results showed that the addition of P alone or combined with V at different rates had a significant effect on the soil fauna, soil fertility, yield of barley. The study showed a strong correlation between soil organic matter, soil fertility index, microbial biomass carbon, and soil fauna (R2 = 0.82, P < 0.05), (R2 = 0.86, P < 0.05), and (R2 = 0.98, P < 0.05) when treating soil with P alone or combined with V. P2V1 mixtures have the best results in OM with 65.0% compared to control, and V contributes more than 16% of them. Total individuals of soil fauna increased by 106.3%, 243.8%, 118.8% and 43.8% in P1V1, P1V2, P2V1 and P2V2 relative to control, respectively. In pots with P addition alone or combined with V at different rates, Shannon's index and Evenness index were significantly higher than the control treatment at the mature stage of barley growth. The interaction between P and V increased the grain yield of barley plant from 5.76 to 9.52 g pot− 1 in P2V2 and to 10.19 g pot− 1 in P2V1. The results indicate that integration of P and V can be promising organic amendments in improving soil fauna, soil fertility, and crop yield in calcareous soils.