Effect Of Cattle Slurry Research Articles

Effect of Cattle Slurry on the Growth of Spinach Plants in Cd-contaminated Soil

ABSTRACT In this work the effect of the addition of different amounts of cattle slurry (CS) to a Cd contaminated soil, was studied regarding its effect in spinach plants. Two levels of Cd contamination (2 and 10 mg/kg) and three levels of CS addition were evaluated (2.5, 5 and 10 g CS/100 g soil). Spinach was shown to be a tolerant species, able to accumulate relatively high amounts of Cd (up to 367.7 mg/kg in the leaves), exceeding the limits established by European regulations for leaf vegetables. The addition of 2.5 and 5 g CS/100 g to soil containing 2 mg/kg Cd did not reduce the uptake of this metal but allowed the plants to grow as much as the control. The addition of 10 g CS/100 g lead to a reduced Cd uptake but also to a lower plant growth compared to the lower CS levels. The combined effects of Cd and CS changed element content in the plant, but without causing severe toxicity or deficiency effects.

Biogas digestates affect crop P uptake and soil microbial community composition

Fermentation residues from biogas production are known as valuable organic fertilisers. This study deals with the effect of cattle slurry, co-digested cattle slurry, co-digested energy crops and mineral fertilisers on the activity and composition of soil microbiota. Furthermore, the effect of solid–liquid separation as a common pre-treatment of digestate was tested. The fertilising effects were analysed in an 8-week pot experiment on loamy sand using two crops, Amaranthus cruentus and Sorghum bicolor. Amaranth, as a crop with significantly higher P uptake, triggered stress for occurring soil microbes and thereby caused a reduction of microbial biomass C in the soil. Irrespective of the crop, microbial basal respiration and metabolic quotient were higher with the digestates than with the untreated slurry or the mineral treatments. Community level physiological profiles with MicroResp showed considerable differences among the treatments, with particularly strong effects of solid–liquid separation. Similar results were also found on a structural level (PCR-DGGE). Alkaline phosphatase gene analyses revealed high sensitivity to different fertilisation regimes.

Effect of cattle slurry on soil and herbage chemical properties, yield, nutrient balance and plant species composition of moderately dry Arrhenatherion grassland

There is increasing pressure to apply cattle slurry on Arrhenatherion grasslands in Central Europe, but intensive manuring can decrease their natural value. We searched for an N application rate which represents an acceptable compromise between farming requirements for high soil fertility and adequate herbage production, environmental protection requirements for balanced applications of nutrients and nature conservation requirements for species-rich grasslands. We applied different annual rates of cattle slurry (0, 60, 120, 180, 240kg Nha−1) on moderately dry Arrhenatherion grasslands over six years.Slurry application positively affected soil fertility by increasing pH, as well as P, K and Mg availability, without any effect on organic C and the total N content. The mean annual herbage yield was 2.58, 3.56, 4.40, 5.75 and 6.09tha−1 in 0, 60, 120, 180 and 240 treatments, respectively. Concentrations of N, P and K in herbage slightly increased with slurry application, while the concentration of Ca decreased. There was no surplus of N, K and Ca up to an N application rate of 120kgha−1, and there was only a slight surplus of P and Mg. In S3 and S4 treatments, the main change in vegetation was an increase in graminoids cover, accompanied by a decrease in the cover of legumes and short forbs, without any significant effect on the species richness of vascular plants. Slurry application at annual rates up to 120Nha−1 seems to be an acceptable compromise, and we recommend setting this limit for application of cattle slurry on Arrhenatherion grasslands.

It is not worthwhile to fertilize sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) with cattle slurry: Productivity and nitrogen-use efficiency

Sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) is a viable alternative to maize when irrigation water is unavailable or too expensive. In areas with intensive livestock activities animal slurries are predominantly applied to maize. Although sweet sorghum is fairly investigated species, little is know about the efficiency with which the crop can use nitrogen (N) applied in the form of cattle slurry. Then, a field experiment was devised to explore the following research questions: (i) what is the effect of cattle slurry and industrial fertilizers on sweet sorghum productivity? (ii) which is the N-use efficiency for cattle slurry and industrial fertilizers applied to sweet sorghum? The study was conducted in the years from 2008 to 2012 (five years) in the alluvial plain of the Po Valley, Northern Italy. The fertilization treatments applied annually were: (i) no fertilization (control); (ii) industrial fertilizers 120kgNha−1, applied in the form of urea, +52kgP ha−1, applied in the form of superphosphate, (IF); (iii) cattle slurry 10mm, i.e. 10Lm−2 (CS10); and (iv) cattle slurry 20mm, i.e. 20Lm−2 (CS20). The indigenous soil N supply varied from 112 to 243kgNha−1. The experiment was not irrigated. The observed average annual yields were, in decreasing order: 34.6MgDMha−1 in 2008, 31.7 in 2011, 29.5 in 2009, 27.9 in 2010 and 27.2 in 2012. Physiological efficiency applied N (PEN, kg yield increase per kgN uptake), recovery efficiency applied N (REN, kgN uptake increase per kgN applied) and agronomic efficiency of applied N (AEN, kg yield increase per kgN applied) were evaluated in this study. In the range of observed values the PEN was 63kg DM yield per kgN uptake, the REN varied from 0 to 0.33 and the AEN was zero in all the years of experiment. Fertilization tends to increase N uptake but not yield nor stem juice sugar content. Our findings indicate that under conditions of good soil fertility, sweet sorghum should be considered poorly suited to receive cattle slurry application, due to the absence of yield gain and to the low N-use efficiency. Moreover, the high N uptake achieved by the crop with no fertilization, combined with the modest REN suggest the animal slurry should rather be applied to crops possessing higher efficiency in utilizing N applied with fertilizers. Nevertheless, the frugality of sweet sorghum should be considered a virtue in the light of the increasing interest in reducing the input for energy crop production.

The effect of cattle slurry in combination with nitrate and the nitrification inhibitor dicyandiamide on in situ nitrous oxide and dinitrogen emissions

Abstract. A field study was conducted to determine the effect of the nitrification inhibitor dicyandiamide (DCD) on N2O and N2 emissions after cattle slurry (CS) application in the presence of nitrate (NO3) fertiliser on seven different occasions (between March 2009 and March 2011). N2O emissions from CS in the presence of NO3 fertiliser were very high (0.4–8.7% of applied N) over a 20-day period, under mild moist conditions. Emissions were significantly larger from the CS treatment compared to an NH4+-N source, supplying the same rate of N as in the slurry. This study supports the view that organic fertilisers should not be applied at the same time as nitrate-based fertilisers, as significant increases in N2O emissions occur. The average N2O mole fraction (N2O/(N2O + N2)) over all seven application dates was 0.34 for CSNO3 compared to 0.24 for the NH4ClNO3 treatment, indicating the dominance of N2 emissions. The rate of nitrification in CSNO3 was slower than in NH4ClNO3, and DCD was found to be an effective nitrification inhibitor in both treatments. However, as N2O emissions were found to be predominantly associated with the NO3 pool, the effect of DCD in lowering N2O emissions is limited in the presence of a NO3 fertiliser. To obtain the maximum cost-benefit of DCD in lowering N2O emissions, under mild moist conditions, it should not be applied to a nitrate containing fertiliser (e.g. ammonium nitrate or calcium ammonium nitrate), and therefore the application of DCD should be restricted to ammonium-based organic or synthetic fertilisers.

Effects of Cattle Slurry on the Growth Potential and Clover Proportion of Organically Managed Grass-Clover Leys

The growth potential of grass-clover leys as influenced by cattle slurry application and clover content was studied in field experiments during three growing seasons at four locations. A grassland growth model was used to quantify growth potential and to separate the influence of weather variables from factors related to the plant stand. Application of cattle slurry increased the initial relative growth rate ( R s ), on average from 0.21 to 0.23 g g -1 day -1 of the spring growth. In regrowth the effect of cattle slurry was less pronounced. The effect of cattle slurry declined with increasing R s of the unfertilized treatment and rose with increasing rate of ammonium N applied by the slurry. The positive response to cattle slurry application on R s was unaffected by the clover proportion in the spring growth, while in regrowth it tended to diminish with increasing clover proportion. A rising clover proportion enhanced the growth potential of the ley in both growth periods. In spring growth, highest R s was found at an average clover content of approximately 55%, while in regrowth R increased linearly with the clover content. On average, slurry application reduced the clover proportion of dry matter yield by 7%-units in spring growth and 13%-units in regrowth.