Copper Availability, Form, and Mobility in Soils from Three Annual Copper‐Enriched Hog Manure Applications

Abstract

Relatively high Cu concentrations occur in manure from hogs fed growth‐stimulating Cu levels. Concern exists that detrimental effects may occur in crop production from incorporation of the Cu‐enriched hog manure into agricultural soils. This research was conducted during three growth seasons to evaluate effects of Cu‐enriched hog manure applications on Cu availability, form, and mobility in one Alfisol and two Ultisols. Five field treatments applied to the three soils annually for 3 years were 33.6 and 67.2 metric tons/ha of wet manure from hogs on high‐Cu diets, Cu levels as CuSO4 equivalent to that in the manure, and a control. Copper concentrations in the hog feed ranged from 178 to 261 ppm during the 3 years. Amounts of Cu in manure used in the field experiments varied with Cu concentrations in the feed and ranged from 899 to 1,398 ppm. From 55.6 to 65.6 kg/ha Cu were incorporated into the soils over the 3‐years at the 67.2‐metric ton/ha manure rate. Application of these levels of Cu as either CuSO4 or Cu‐enriched hog manure did not decrease corn (Zea mays L.) grain yields on the three soils. In some cases, the Cu applications caused relatively small increases in Cu concentrations in corn ear leaves and grain. Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)‐extractable Cu data indicated that downward movement of Cu from Cu‐enriched hog manure application occurred in only one of the three soils. This soil contained relatively low amounts of clay and free Fe and Mn. Sequential Cu extraction data indicated that the applied Cu increased the potentially plant‐available soil Cu fractions and that a portion of the applied Cu reverted to relatively plant‐unavailable soil Cu forms.

Copper and Zinc Accumulation, Profile Distribution, and Crop Removal in Coastal Plain Soils Receiving Long-Term, Intensive Applications of Swine Manure

“…Although accumulating in the topsoils, the profile metal concentration distribution patterns strongly suggest that concentrating effluent applications to the smaller area of the spray field (1 ha) created conditions conducive to leaching of dissolved and/or complexed Cu and Zn into subsoil depths, resulting in total metal concentration increases. This finding is similar to reports of Mullins et al (1982) and Payne et al (1988), who found Cu leaching to subsoil depths in sandy Virginia soils after application of Cu−enriched swine manure. The finding of significant Zn leaching is contrary to King et al (1985), who reported that no Zn leaching occurred through a sandy North Carolina soil after swine manure effluent application.…”

“…The alternate explanation may be the binding preference of Cu over Zn to the organic ligands contained within the manures (Adriano, 2001). Mullins et al (1982) also noted that increased Cu leaching may be related to Cu propensity to be preferentially chelated by ligands contained within the manure.…”

Copper and zinc amounts and distribution in soil as influenced by application of animal manure in east-central Saskatchewan

“…A high proportion of Cu was found to be associated with OM- (Tables 4 and 5), which is anticipated, given the relatively high organic matter content of Black Chernozemic soils. Other studies have reported that Cu in the manure itself is also strongly associated with the organic matter fraction (Mullins et al 1982;Payne et al 1988;Canet et al 1997). …”

Metais pesados do solo após aplicação de biossólido: I - Fracionamento

“…Vários estudos de fracionamento do Cu do solo comprovaram a grande afinidade desse elemento por ligantes orgânicos (McLaren & Crawford, 1973;Shuman, 1979;Mullins et al, 1982;Sposito et al, 1982).…”