U.S. Department of Agriculture: Agricultural Research Service, Lincoln, Nebraska

 

Date of this Version

2010

Citation

Soil Science, 175 (5) May 2010.

Abstract

Swine (Sus scrofa) manure can serve as a fertilizer source for crop production, but it typically contains more P relative to N than the crop requires, creating the potential for P losses in runoff. A 3-year study was conducted to compare runoff losses of NO3-N, NH4-N, total N, dissolved P, and total P under natural rainfall conditions from no-tillage sorghum plots [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] receiving inorganic fertilizer, manure from swine fed low-phytate corn (Zea mays L.) diet, or manure from swine fed a traditional corn diet. Runoff (26.5 mm in 1999, 14.2 mm in 2000, and 1.6 mm in 2001), sediment loss (2.9 kg ha‒1 in 1999. 0.9 kg ha‒1 in 2000, and 0.4 kg ha‒1 in 2001), and runoff nutrient losses differed among years but were similar among treatments within a year. Runoff losses of NO3-N (5.3 g ha‒1 in 1999, 1.0 g ha‒1 in 2000, and 2.6 g ha‒1 in 2001).NH4-N (2.9 g ha‒1in 1999, 0.6 g ha‒1 in 2000, and 5.6 g ha‒1 in 2001), total N (89.7 g ha‒1 in 1999, 8.4 g ha‒1 in 2000, and 100.2 g ha‒1 in 2001), dissolved P (1.5 g ha‒1 in 1999, 0.5 g ha‒1 in 2000, and 3.1 g ha‒1 in 2001), and total P (3.8 g ha‒1 in 1999, 0.9 g ha‒1 in 2000, and 3.5 g ha‒1 in 2001) from these plots represented less than 1% of that applied each year. Although use of low-phytate corn reduces manure P content, it did not decrease runoff P under these no-tillage conditions.

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