Abstract
Changes in the nitrate content in different soil layers (0–15 cm, 15–30 cm, 30–45 cm, and below 45 cm) were investigated after the application of livestock waste compost pellets in a sweet corn field located at the National Agricultural Center for Kyushu Okinawa Region. Results indicated that livestock waste composts could lead to a high nitrate content in deeper soil layers of the early stage after the application of compost pellets, and increase the risk of nitrate pollution to underground water through leaching in summer in a rainy area. The dairy cattle (DW), swine (SW), and poultry waste (PW) compost pellets released about 31.5, 41.6, and 51.3% of N in about 3 months, respectively. However, N use efficiency by sweet corn was only 20.5, 20.6, and 28.8%, respectively. In order to enhance the N use efficiency by crops and decrease nitrate leaching to deeper soil layers in the Kyushu area, a large amount of application of animal waste compost pellets at one time should be avoided in summer. The PW compost pellets led to the highest dry matter content in sweet corn in this experiment. Chemical fertilizer treatment led to the highest total water-soluble sugar content in sweet corn seed, but there were no significant differences between the treatments.
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