Manure-Based Organic Soil Amendments Provide an Adequate Nutritional Source for Corn Production in Chile When Combined with Urea Applications

Abstract

ABSTRACT The use of manure-based organic soil amendments is common in countries with food animal production. A two-season field study was carried out in central Chile to evaluate the effect of different poultry litter (PL) and pig compost (PC) rates (7.5, 10.0, 12.5, and 15.0 Mg ha−1for each amendment) combined with different nitrogen (N) rates (0, 100, 200, and 300 kg ha−1) on dry matter (DM), grain production, and macronutrient concentration in corn (Zea mays L.) produced during the 2008–2009 (PL) and 2009–2010 (PC) seasons. The soil was clay loam. Organic amendments were applied before sowing, whereas inorganic N (urea) was applied at the 6-leaf stage (V6). When PL was combined with N, DM production ranged between 21.44 and 31.01 Mg ha−1 and grain yield was between 12.76 and 17.86 Mg ha−1. When PC was combined with N, DM production values were between 21.07 and 26.18 Mg ha−1 and grain yield was between 14.01 and 17.14 Mg ha−1. Results indicate that applying a combination of PL and N improved DM production, but applying a combination of PC and N did not affect this parameter. Grain production was only affected by increasing N rates. Applying both PL and N improved plant macronutrient concentration, while only applying PC increased N concentration. These results could be considered as the best recommended practices for using PL and PC.