Manures are organic substances that are capable of giving plant nutrients in readily available form, are bulky in character, have a low analytical value, and have no fixed composition, and are derived mostly from animal and plant waste products. Previously, the term used in English was “DUNG” (at present fertilizer). It comes from the old German term “TUNG,” which means “storage pit covered with manure for the protection of the soil from the cold.” “TUNGEN” is derived (to cover) from Tung, and then dung (fertilizer) is used as the cover. The comparable English word “Fertilizer” was derived from the Latin word “Fertil,” and is now used internationally in place of the ancient English word DUNG.

A fertiliser is a mined or manufactured material that contains one or more required plant nutrients in commercially valuable proportions in potentially available forms.

Difference between manures and fertilizers

Bulky organic manures 

Bulky organic manures are materials of plant and/or animal origin that, when added to the soil, tend to reduce bulk density and increase soil volume, thus providing better physical conditions for plant growth, particularly in coarse textured soils, and also provide essential nutrients in smaller quantities than chemical fertilisers.

Bulky organic manures have the following characteristics:

1. Organic materials have a lower concentration of plant nutrients than inorganic materials.
2. These materials have higher C:N and C:S ratios, which provide energy to microbes.
3. Plants have access to mineral nutrients that are present in organic components after mineralization. 
4. A well-balanced mix of organic and inorganic manures is critical for maintaining fertility. FYM, composts, green manures, poudrette, and more examples
5. Slurry from biogas, sewage or sludge, molasses, and vermicompost

FARM YARD MANURE (Cattle manure) 

Farm Yard Manure is the physical composition of bovine manure, which comprises animal excrement and urine, litter, a bedding material such as hay, and straw used for cattle. Cattle manure is a low-analysis fertiliser made from the excrement and urine of farm animals mixed with litter and other farm wastes. It is a slow-acting, bulky organic fertiliser.

Compost 

Compost is a mixture of plant and animal wastes that has been decomposed with various additives. The compost contained the widest range of organic materials, ranging from neglected waste dumps to professionally composted and treated high-fertility compounds. 

Composting is a method of transforming organic matter into manure in a short period of time by speeding up the fermentation process under regulated conditions.

Composting techniques During the First World War, England was the first country to implement composting (1914 -1918). 

Composting systems come in a variety of shapes and sizes:

1. ADCO process (Agricultural Development Company ) 
2. Activated compost process 
3. Indore process 
4. Bangalore process 
5. Coimbatore process 
6. Rain -water compost 
7. Rural compost 
8. Urban compost 
9. Vermicompost 

Green manuring

Green manuring can be defined as the practise of ploughing or turning un decomposed green plant tissues into the soil for the purpose of improving the physical condition and fertility of the soil while it is still green, or soon after maturity, with the goal of improving the soil and benefiting subsequent crops, or the practise of growing a crop for the specific purpose of incorporating it into soil while it is still green, or soon after maturity, with the goal of improving the soil and benefiting subsequent crops.

Objectives of green manuring: 

1. Increasing organic matter content of soil 
2. Maintain and improve soil structure 
3. Reduce the loss of nutrients , particularly nitrogen 
4. Provide a source of nitrogen for the following crop 
5. Reduce the soil loss by erosion 

Classification of Green manuring 

1. Green manure in situ—with this system, green manure crops are cultivated and buried in the same field as the main crop to be green-manured, either as a pure crop or as an intercrop with it. Sunn Hemp (Crotalaria juncea), dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata), Pillipesera (Phaseolus trilobus), and guar are the most frequent green manure crops grown in this system ( Cyamopsis tetragonoloba ).
2. Green leaf manuring is the process of turning green leaves and tender twigs collected from shrubs and trees grown on bunds, waste lands, and nearby forest areas into the soil. Glyricidia, Sesbania speciosa, Karanj (Pongamia pinnata), and other shrubs and trees are commonly employed. Aeschynomene aspera, Azolla filiculoidea, Azolla pinnata, Calotropis gigantean, Cassia auriculata, Cassia siamea, and Cyamopsis tetragonoloba are some of the plants used to make green leaf manure.

Conclusion

Both manures and fertilisers will feed and amend your turf by preserving moisture and delivering nutrients that plants require to survive.

While manure adds organic matter to your lawn and feeds microorganisms, it can also cause undesired illnesses like weeds. Choosing the best form of manure will be determined by what you have access to. Fertilizers, on the other hand, are readily available at your neighbourhood store.

It’s difficult to anticipate how much manure to use because each waste includes various quantities of nutrients, but you can figure out how much fertilizer to apply based on the plant’s demands or the product description.

Fertilizers are the greatest alternative since you have more control over the process, a thorough understanding of the foundation of nutrients inside the product, and it continues to increase turf quality without causing diseases.

Granular fertilizer is the ideal sort of fertilizer to put on your lawn since it distributes nutrients over a longer period of time and requires fewer reapplications by you.