Recovery of manure P as magnesium ammonium phosphate hexahydrate (MgNH 4 PO 4 •6H 2 O), commonly known as struvite, can mitigate the risk of P contamination of surface water bodies from hog operations. The slow release of P from struvite may help improve crop P use efficiency. This greenhouse bioassay evaluated the agronomic effectiveness of liquid hog manure recovered struvite. Struvite, monoammonium phosphate (MAP), and polymercoated MAP (CMAP) were evaluated for canola (Brassica napus L.) grown in rotation with spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in two low soil test P (Olsen P < 6 mg kg −1 ) soils: a sandy Gleyed Regosol (Typic Haplaquent) and a clay loamy Orthic Black Chernozem (Udic Boroll). The fertilizers were applied either in the seed row or in a sideband at 1.1 and 2.2 g P m −2 rates. In both soils, struvite produced canola dry matter (DM) yield (DMY, 2.4 g kg −1 soil), P uptake (5.9 mg P kg −1 soil), P recovery efficiency (43%), and agronomic efficiency (0.15 g DM mg −1 P) that were similar to those of MAP and CMAP in the first crop phase. Moreover, at the 2.2 g P m −2 rate, struvite produced significantly greater canola DMY than MAP in the second crop phase and both MAP and CMAP in the third crop phase. Overall, wheat did not produce significant responses to P fertilization. These results indicate that struvite recovered from liquid hog manure can supply sufficient P to sustain yields and P use efficiency matching or exceeding those for MAP.Abbreviations: AE, agronomic efficiency; CMAP, polymer-coated monoammonium phosphate; DM, dry matter; DMY, dry matter yield; EC, electrical conductivity; ICP-OES, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry; MAP, monoammonium phosphate; PRE, phosphorus recovery efficiency; PU, phosphorus uptake; RO, reverse osmosis; STP, soil test phosphorus.
Intensive hog production in western Canada generates manure at an estimated rate of >16 Tg annually (Hofmann, 2013). Manitoba, which has the third largest hog population (2.8 million as of January 2014) of all Canadian provinces (12.7 million hogs total), accounts for about 20% of Canada's daily hog manure output (Statistics Canada, 2014a).Manure from hog operations is typically applied on agricultural land as a source of nutrients for crops. Current regulations in many jurisdictions, including Manitoba, now require that manure be applied based on crop P needs. This is because the N/P ratios of hog manures (2:1-4:1) are typically lower than crop uptake ratios (4:1-7:1) (Nelson and Janke, 2007), with the result that repeated manure applications based on crop N needs can lead to excessive soil test P (STP) levels. Therefore, the amount of hog manure that can be applied on agricultural land without risking noncompliance with the increasingly stringent regulations is limited. Finding suitable land proximal to hog operations can be a daunting task, particularly where soils have received repeated manure applications. This Core Ideas:
Yeukai Katanda• Struvite recovered from liquid hog manure is a slow-release P source....