Nitrogen recovery from broiler litter in a wheat-millet production system

Autor: R.P. Flynn, J.T. Touchton, C. W. Wood
Rok vydání: 1993
Předmět:
Zdroj: Bioresource Technology. 44:165-173
ISSN: 0960-8524
DOI: 10.1016/0960-8524(93)90191-d
Popis: Nitrogen (N) released through mineralization from broiler litter can supply the N requirements for crops, but litter may cause yield reductions and loss of fertilizer value if applied in excess of crop needs. A field study was conducted over two years at Crossville, AL, to determine the fate of N in a winter-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) — pearl-millet (Pennisetum americanum L.) crop rotation. Soil and plant N contents were determined after fall application of 0, 9, or 18 Mg ha−1 litter supplemented with 0 or 34 kg ha−1 fall-applied N and 0, 22, 44, or 66 kg ha−1 of spring-applied N fertilizer. Millet followed wheat harvest with no additional N added to the soil. Broiler litter applied at 9 Mg ha−1 eliminated the need for fall-applied N fertilizer and reduced the need for spring-applied N to 22 kg ha−1. The 18-Mg ha−1 litter rate reduced grain yield, and the reduction increased as spring-applied N rates increased. In the first year, N removed in wheat grain plus millet tissue averaged 44 and 16% of N from 9 and 18 mg ha−1 litter, respectively. In the second year, N removal from the litter treatments was 17 and 14% of N contained in 9 and 18 Mg ha−1 litter, respectively. The results of this study suggest that 9 Mg ha−1 of broiler litter with approximately 22 kg ha−1 of supplemental spring-applied N may be optimum for winter-wheat production. A summer annual such as pearl millet following winter wheat can utilize residual N and decrease the potential for N loss via leaching.
Databáze: OpenAIRE