Liquid Manure Application Research Articles

Ammonia Volatilization from Liquid Swine Manure Applied to Cropland

AbstractRandomized complete block design field experiments were conducted to determine the effects of rates and methods of liquid swine manure application on volatile NH3‐N losses from cropland. In addition, a greenhouse study was conducted to determine the effect of wind on the rate of NH3‐N volatilization from soil and the accuracy of NH3‐N loss measurements under field conditions. A partially closed system was utilized to directly collect volatilized NH3‐N from microplots.The NH3‐N collection system did not accurately estimate volatile N losses when windy conditions existed as often encountered in the field. Using direct measurement of NH4+‐N in waste before and after exposure to the atmosphere to correct for the low estimates of NH3‐N loss under field conditions, an average of 48.1% of the volatilized N was collected under greenhouse conditions with relatively constant temperature and wind.The rate of NH3‐N loss from manure increased with increasing temperature and air movement. The proportions of the applied NH4+‐N lost as NH3‐N during a 3.5‐day sampling period in the spring from swine manure (pH 6.4) applied to soil (pH 6.4) and corrected for the effect of wind were: 14.0%, 12.2%, and 11.2% for the 90, 135 and 180 metric ton/ha, respectively, of surface applied liquid swine manure; 2.5% for both the 90 and 180 metric ton rates, respectively, of injected liquid swine manure; 14.7% for surface applied urea fertilizer (168 kg N/ha); and 65.8% of the applied NH4+‐N from swine manure surface applied (90 metric tons/ha) on a plastic liner. Fresh swine manure (pH 7.8) surface applied at the rate of 135 metric tons/ha on greenhouse loam soil (pH 7.0) lost 82.5% of the applied NH4+‐N in an 8‐day sampling period.

Pollution Potential and Corn Yields from Selected Rates and Timing of Liquid Manure Applications

ABSTRACT A6-year study was conducted to determine the effects of rate and time of liquid manure application, chemical fertilizer application, and no fertilizer, on the chemical composition of surface and subsurface water and on crop yield. Liquid manure was applied at three rates of 224, 560 and 897 kg/(ha-yr) of N in accordance with four application schedules (i.e. spring, fall, split rates in spring and fall, and winter). In all cases except winter application, manure was incorporated by plowing at time of application. During spring snow-melt, surface runoff concentra-tions of inorganic N, P, and K from winter-applied manure increased approximately in proportion to in-creased application rate. Also, they were much higher than concentrations from spring, fall, spring-fall, and chemical fertilizer treatments. In contrast to spring snowmelt surface runoff, tile drain effluent N03-N concentrations from the plots receiving manure at nearly 900 kg/(ha-yr) of N appeared to be little different from the plot chemically fertilized with 134 kg/(ha-yr) of N. However, at and above the 560 kg/(ha-yr) of N (140 kg/(ha-yr) of P) rates of manure the drain effluent P04-P concentrations tended to be higher than the concentration resulting from chemical fertilizer applications. Most of the nitrogen and phosphorus in surface runoff during June storms was associated with suspended sedi-ment that resulted from erosion. Neither the amounts of sediment nor their total N and total P contents were af-fected by manure or fertilizer applications. Although the concentrations of inorganic N and P04-P in the water portion of June storm runoff were small (<3 percent) compared to those in the sediment, plots with higher rate spring-applied manure tended to have higher concentra-tions of inorganic N, P04-P and K. No significant differences in silage corn yields were observed amongst any of the manure and the chemical fertilizer treatments. Based on trends in the water quality results, it is con-cluded that winter application of manure at any rate on areas that contribute runoff directly to bodies of surface water is not recommended. Non-winter applications of manure at and above rates of 560 kg/(ha-yr) of N may also lead to water quality impairment.

Effects of Corn Stover, Manure, and Nitrogen on Soil Properties and Crop Yield1

AbstractResidues and farmyard manures are considered important in determining the N fertilizer requirement of crops. This relationship was studied in a 10‐year field experiment on a Typic Hapludalf soil (pH 7.8). Five levels of fertilizer N were applied annually with three management treatments which included 1) returning the stover produced by the preceding corn (Zea mays L.) crop, 2) poultry manure equivalent to 112 kg N/ha/year and 3) no stover returned or manure applied. Dry matter yields and N in grain and stover were measured each year.In general, the manure treatment without N fertilizer gave yields comparable with any other treatment. Where fertilizer N was not applied, stover depressed yields; but where N was applied, stover resulted in slightly higher fields than where stover was removed. Stover returned to the soil did not increase fertilizer N requirements at nomal rates of application. Fertilizer N narrowed the C/N ratio of the stover residue, but this additional N was not reflected in the total N content of the grain or the soil. Regression equations for yields of grain and N on N applied indicated that a single term, the square root of N applied, would fit the response pattern for the majority of treatments, not including manure in most years. Treatments including manure required terms with the square and cube of applied fertilizer N levels to describe the response pattern. Yields from residual N were higher on plots where stover had not been applied than where applied and, at the highest level of applied N, equalled those from residual manure. Soil organic matter (OM) declined during the experiment, but stover residues and manure gave a smaller decline than without residues. Applied N did not help to conserve OM, but increased inorganic N (NO3‐ + NH4+) in the soil. The degree of water‐stable aggregation was increased by stover and manure treatments. It was concluded that corn stover residue did not affect the N fertilizer requirement of this soil for grain corn production. Annual applications of liquid poultry manure, containing N equivalent to 112 kg/ha, precluded a requirement for fertilizer N.

Liquid manure as a grassland fertilizer: II. The response to winter applications

1. The effect of applications of liquid manure during the winter months was studied and compared with the application of dry artificial fertilizers on six different swards in two experiments in each of the years 1960, 1961 and 1962.2. The liquid manure supplied an average of 69 lb. N and 114 lb. K/acre at each application and plots received one dressing only applied in November, December, January, February or March. Further treatments consisted of applying conventional dry fertilizer supplying the same weight of nitrogen and potassium as the liquid manure and applied on the same day. A control plot received no added fertilizer or liquid manure.3. All plots were cut in May and a second cut was made 8–10 weeks later to measure residual effects of treatments.4. The maximum increase in dry-matter yields at cut 1 occurred with the February application although the January and March applications gave only slightly lower yields. The dry-matter yield/lb of N applied even from some November applications was comparable to the response obtained from applications of inorganic nitrogen made in summer in earlier experiments by other workers.5. The production of crude-protein followed a similar pattern to that of the dry-matter, and the maximum increase was from the March application.6. With similar rainfall conditions but different winter soil temperatures a mixture of Italian and perennial rye-grasses under average fertility conditions gave the highest response to liquid manure. This was followed by the later growing cocksfoot sward and the permanent pasture, on both of which yields were increased by all the monthly applications. The two swards containing grass and clover mixtures showed a response to the later dressings whereas a vigorous Italian rye-grass ley in the mild winter of 1961 was unaffected by treatment.

Liquid manure as a grassland fertilizer. I. The response to liquid manure and to dry fertilizer

1. A small-scale plot experiment was conducted for a 3-year period, 1958–60, to study the comparative effect of applications of liquid manure, water and dry fertilizer on the yield and quality of an established meadow fescue and white clover sward.2. The liquid manure was collected from a cowshed and contained on average 0·23% N, 0·003% P2O6 and 0·48%K2O.3. The treatments applied each year were: (1) control, no fertilizer; (2) and (3) a low and a high rate of water equal in weight to the liquid manure applied in treatments (4) and (5) respectively; (4) a low rate of liquid manure supplying 75 lb. nitrogen and 159 lb. K2O; (5) a high rate of liquid manure supplying 150 lb. nitrogen and 318 lb. K2O/acre; (6) and (7) liquid manure as in (4) and (5) plus 82 lb. P2O6/acre; (8) a low rate of normal dry fertilizer supplying 87 lb. nitrogen, 82 lb. P2O6 and 84 lb. K2O/acre; and (9) a high rate supplying 174 lb. nitrogen, 82 lb. P2O5 and 168 lb. K2O/acre.All treatments were applied in five equal dressings each year, one for each cut, except the P2O5 which was applied twice a year.4. The yields of herbage dry matter and crude protein were not affected by the water treatments, but both the liquid-manure and dry-fertilizer treatments caused significant increases in yield. The application of phosphate on the liquid-manure treatments had no significant effect on yields.5. The crude-protein contents of the herbage on the different treatments did not show any large or consistent differences.6. The botanical compositions of the swards were significantly different at the end of the third experimental year. On the liquid-manure treatments the content of clover had increased and the meadow fescue and dicotyledonous weeds decreased compared with the control. The mean content of clover in the swards at the end of the trial was 32, 18 and 15% on the liquid-manure, dry-fertilizer and control treatments respectively.7. There were no major differences between either the pH values or the contents of P2O5 in samples of soil on the different treatments after 3 years, but the average K2O value on the control and two water treatments was almost half that on the high liquid-manure treatment.8. The mineral contents of the herbage were determined. In 2 of the 3 years the liquid-manure treatments produced herbage with high K and lowered Ca, Mg and Na contents. The Mg content of the herbage on the four liquid-manure treatments averaged 0·26%.