Cotton Response to Chicken Litter in Rotation with Corn in Clayey Soil

Abstract

Poultry litter may benefi t continuous cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production in the heavier Midsouth soils in the same way as crop rotation. Th e objective of this research was to determine the eff ectiveness of poultry litter in maintaining yield of continuous cotton compared with cotton-corn (Zea mays L.) rotation in the Black Belt Prairie clay soils of Mississippi. Th e research was conducted in a Catalpa silty clay loam soil in northern Mississippi. Th ree main plots with the sequence cotton-cotton-cotton, cotton-corn-cotton, and corn-cotton-cotton in 2003-2004-2005 were split into fi ve subplots each of which received 0, 4.5, 9.0, 13.5 Mg litter ha −1 yr −1 , or 123 kg N ha −1 yr −1 as urea-ammonium nitrate solution (32% N; UAN) (conventional inorganic fertilization, CIF). Th e CIF received 180 kg ha −1 UAN-N when planted with corn. Th e results showed 3-yr continuous cotton produced about the same lint yield as cotton that followed corn or 1 yr cotton. Unlike soils in other locations where ≤9.0 Mg ha −1 litter was adequate to produce yield equal to standard inorganic fertilization, cotton in this soil responded to litter up to 13.5 Mg ha −1 , which suggests lint yield in this clayey soil may be optimized with greater litter fertilization rate than in lighter soils. Cotton fertilized with 13.5 Mg ha −1 litter, regardless of the rotation, outyielded the CIF by up to 26%. Overall, the results show adequate fertilization with poultry litter may be more important to improving and maintaining lint yield in this soil than the perceived benefi t of a short-term rotation with corn.

The Effect of Poultry Litter Application on Agricultural Production: A Meta-Analysis of Crop Yield, Nutrient Uptake and Soil Fertility

“…Approximately, 85% of plant K concentration data collected from forages (including bermudagrass, fescue, turfgrass, and forage-mix), both composted and fresh PL treatments produced higher forage K than the inorganic NPK treatments (Warman and Cooper, 2000;Warren et al, 2008;Wood et al, 1993) and showed a positively linear response in tissue K concentration with litter application (Warman and Cooper, 2000). Our results were consistent with the previous studies of cotton (Tewolde et al, 2011;Tewolde et al, 2009b), where fertilizing with litter slightly increased bulk leaf K concentration and had approximately the same stem or reproductive K concentration as cotton fertilized with IF. The slightly higher K concentration in plants indicated that K concentration in PL can satisfy plant growth requirements, which mainly due to K in manure being mostly in inorganic forms, therefore virtually all the K is available for plant uptake.…”

Poultry Litter Time and Method of Application Effects on Corn Yield

“…Jn-Baptiste et al (2012) found no difference in yield among CF application and two PL rates in Kentucky. Tewolde et al (2009a) reported 9.2% less grain yield in corn from PL compared with that from CF in Mississippi and argued that the 50% N availability from PL may be erroneous because the PL applied met the target rate of the CF. In this study, similar grain yield from the low PL, which supplied significantly lower N compared with the NH 4 NO 3 (67.5 vs 145 kg ha j1 ), and the significantly lesser grain yield (13%) from the NH 4 NO 3 compared with that of the medium PL rate (5,045 vs 4,450 kg ha j1 ), which supplied similar N, seem to support the argument by Tewolde et al (2009) that the 50% available N assumption from the PL might be erroneous.…”

Applied Manure and Nutrient Chemistry for Sustainable Agriculture and Environment

“…For example, Tewolde et al (2009b) found that cotton fertilized with 13.5 Mg ha À1 litter in a clayey soil in northern Mississippi had less green foliage and much less bulk leaf N concentration but produced as much as 26 % more lint yield than cotton that received the locally recommended inorganic fertilization. For example, Tewolde et al (2009b) found that cotton fertilized with 13.5 Mg ha À1 litter in a clayey soil in northern Mississippi had less green foliage and much less bulk leaf N concentration but produced as much as 26 % more lint yield than cotton that received the locally recommended inorganic fertilization.…”

“…Damage to cotton yield by parasitic nematodes is a major concern to the extent that nematicides are often a key component of best management practices in the southern and southeastern US. Applying litter to soil has been shown to stimulate soil microorganisms (Riegel and Noe 2000;Pratt and Tewolde 2009;Tewolde et al 2009b) and it has also been shown to reduce harmful nematodes (Riegel and Noe 2000). The effectiveness of litter in suppressing harmful nematodes may be associated with its stimulating effect on beneficial soil microorganisms (Riegel and Noe 2000).…”