Composted Poultry Litter as a Low-cost Media Amendment

Abstract

The poultry industry is a $1 billion industry in Texas, with most production centered in eastern Texas. The nursery industry is a $600 million industry, with 25% of the producers located in eastern Texas. With hundreds of millions of birds produced each year, and each bird producing ≈2 lb of manure, waste disposal is a growing problem. Composted poultry litter was mixed with composted pine bark to create five media with varying percentages of poultry litter as a component: 0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, and 40%. A randomized complete-block design was used with poultry litter rates as main plots and plant species tested as subplots. Five species included: tomato, marigold, Cortaderia selloana, Asian jasmine, and Salvia leucantha. Prior to planting, all 1-gal containers were leached with 1000 ml of water, the leachate collected, and tested for conductivity. Plant growth measurements to be presented include plant height and dry weight. The results of media and leaf tissue nutrient analysis will be presented.