Fall‐ and Spring‐Applied Poultry Litter Effectiveness as Corn Fertilizer in the Mid‐Southern United States

Abstract

The effectiveness of fall-or winter-applied poultry litter, relative to spring-applied litter, as row crop fertilizer in the southern and southeastern United States has not been well researched. A 3-yr field study was conducted in northern Mississippi to determine the effectiveness of litter as corn (Zea mays L.) fertilizer and quantify loss of its potency when applied in the fall. The grain yield and biomass of corn that received fall-applied poultry litter (9 or 18 Mg ha -1 ) or 202 kg ha -1 NH 4 NO 3 -N was compared against that of corn that received the same fertilization treatments applied in the spring including an unfertilized control. Corn fertilized with 18 Mg ha -1 litter applied in the spring produced 24% less grain yield in the first year but up to 21% more grain yield in the last 2 yr than corn fertilized with spring-applied NH 4 NO 3 . Unlike the common assumption that 50 to 65% of the total litter N is available in the same year of application, we estimated only 31% of the total N from 18 Mg ha -1 spring-applied litter was available to corn in the first year. Applying 18 Mg ha -1 litter in the fall, relative to spring, reduced grain yield by 12.8% and biomass by 15.0% when averaged across the 3 yr. These results show that applying poultry litter in the fall in regions with warm fall and winter months similar to that of northern Mississippi reduces its value as a fertilizer and could potentially increase environmental risk.

Does Fertilizing Corn with Poultry Litter Enrich the Grain with Mineral Nutrients?

“…The treatments resulted in a range of fertilization levels that led to grain yield as low as ≈3 Mg ha –1 to as high as ≈10 Mg ha –1 (Tewolde et al, 2013). This range likely was due to the range of plant‐available N levels created by the rate and timing of application of the fertilizers.…”

“…The plots received a total rainfall of 153 mm in 2006 and 229 mm in 2007 during the growing season in May, June, and July. Monthly total rainfall and average air and soil temperature information for the study site is given by Tewolde et al (2013). The plots were kept weed free using locally established weed control practices during each growing season.…”

“…Treatments affected grain Zn concentration in both years (Tables 2 and 3). As in the macronutrients, Zn concentration in the grain was highest in treatments that received optimal or near optimal N. In 2006, the ANs treatment which was the highest yielding (Tewolde et al, 2013) had the highest grain Zn (42.2 g Table 4. Total N and C, pH, and Mehlich 3-extractable mineral elements of soil samples taken on 2 Dec. 2005 before initiating the study (background) and at the end of the study on 7 Nov. 2007 from the 0-to 15-cm depth of plots that were planted with corn in 2006 and 2007 following the application of poultry litter (PL) or NH 4 NO 3 in the fall (f) or spring (s).…”

“…The objective of this study was to determine whether fertilizing corn with PL applied in the fall or spring enriches the grain and other plant parts with selected mineral elements. The study was part of a larger research that investigated the effectiveness and sustainability of fertilizing corn in the southeastern United States with PL which is available in abundance in the region (Feng et al, 2015; Tewolde et al, 2013).…”

Methods and rates of poultry litter fertilization for corn silage in organic system

“…The results obtained by Sistani et al (2010) indicated that no-till corn cultivated with 13.5 Mg ha -1 year -1 of PL for four consecutive years resulted in corn grain yields similar (p > 0.05) to corn cultivated with mineral fertilization without causing residual levels of P, Cu, and Zn that could be harmful to surface waters or subsequent crops. Tewolde, Sistani, & Adeli (2013) observed that only 31% of N from an application of 18.0 Mg ha -1 of PL in the spring was released in the first year, and when compared with the fall application resulted in average increases (p < 0.05) of 14% for ear leaf N concentrations and of 24% for corn grain yields during three years.…”