Herbage Nutritive Value of Tall Fescue Fertilized with Broiler Litter and Inorganic Fertilizer

Abstract

The nutrients in broiler litter can replace inorganic fertilizer additions, but must be managed to minimize soil nutrient build‐up and off‐site losses in the environment. Herbage dry matter (DM) and nutritive value were measured in tall fescue at litter rates of 0, 4.5, 9.0, 13.5, and 18.0 Mg/ha/year, as compared to inorganic fertilizer (INORG) that provided N, P2O5, and K2O (224‐112‐224 kg/ha/year), in soil with no litter history. The treatments were split‐applied in autumn and spring, and forage was harvested at early‐, mid‐, and late‐season. In general, nutritive value was greatest at early‐season, based on low acid detergent fiber (ADF) and high in vitro true digestible DM (IVDDM). Herbage crude protein (CP) was similar in INORG and 9.0 Mg litter per ha at the early‐ and late‐season harvests, with litter producing CP values of 105 to 125 g/kg. The litter effect was significant at late season in 2006, when CP increased approximately 42 g/kg, ADF decreased 35 g/kg, and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) decreased 30 g/kg. The use of 9.0 Mg litter per ha produced forage with reasonably high DM yield and nutritive value, but elevated soil P, Cu, and Zn, as compared to INORG and 4.5 Mg litter per ha. Herbage nutritive value was generally lower at 4.5 Mg litter per ha than INORG, but both fertilizer sources appeared to minimize potential risks to the environment when tall fescue was grown for hay.

Seasonal nitrogen effects on nutritive value in binary mixtures of tall fescue and bermudagrass

“…The use of broiler litter (a mixture of manure, wasted feed and bedding material) as fertilizer represents an opportunity to produce high‐quality forage for livestock, reduce potential nutrient loss to the environment and remove nutrients added by the manure through hay production (Read et al ., ). Tall fescue [ Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.)…”

Effects of Seasonal Nitrogen on Binary Mixtures of Tall Fescue and Bermudagrass

“…Similarly, Pitman (1999) conducted a 3‐yr study in Georgia on mixed swards of cultivar Georgia 5 tall fescue and common bermudagrass and reported DM yields in March and May were greater when a split application of 150 kg N ha −1 was limited to the cool‐season grass, as compared to the warm‐season grass. In a Mississippi study on the response of Jesup MaxQ to five litter rates (0–18 Mg ha −1 , as‐is basis) applied in April, Read et al (2010) reported significant linear increases in DM yield, from approximately 0.3 to 2.3 Mg ha −1 , and in crude protein concentration, from 67 to 127 g kg −1 , at the mid‐season harvests in either May (2006) or June (2007). They suggested this response was due to N mineralization during the 30‐d period between application and the mid‐season harvest, which is consistent with evidence of relatively rapid release of inorganic N from broiler litter into the surface soil up to 28 d post‐application (Sistani et al, 2008).…”

“…While cool‐season favored tall fescue, the Mississippi Nutrient Management Code 590 requires that, among other considerations, the manure applications in autumn and winter be done when the crop is actively growing on unsaturated soil, and this management option is addressed specifically in an approved nutrient management plan (Mississippi Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2013). The condition of growth activity on an essentially continual basis is met in a cool‐season/bermudagrass production system, and knowledge of yield improvement in response to seasonal N fertilization has potential to enhance the fertilizer value of poultry litter (Newton et al, 2003; Read et al, 2010).…”

“…In both years, cumulative N uptake at the May and July harvest dates was affected by a tall fescue × seasonal N interaction probably because difference in N uptake between the October/January and March/May treatments was somewhat greater for Jesup–bermudagrass (≈65 kg ha −1 ) than Flecha–bermudagrass association (≈49 kg ha −1 ); whereas, N uptake was similar for these binary mixtures in the March/May and January/March treatments. Jesup tall fescue continued to have some growth activity in summer, and although cool‐season plants generally become less efficient as the temperature increases, they provide a greater percentage of crude protein than warm‐season plants (Hoveland et al, 1997; Read et al, 2010).…”

“…Growth of the broiler chicken industry in the southeastern United States and land application of broiler litter has focused research on nutrient uptake of southern forages, particularly bermudagrass (warm‐season, C 4 ) and tall fescue (cool‐season, C 3 ). Both species are perennial grasses that are characterized as having high growth rates under high fertility and extensive rooting systems, which makes them valuable in nutrient recycling systems; the nutrients taken up by the crop are removed when the hay is harvested (Newton et al, 2003; Read et al, 2010). Traditionally, broiler litter application has been based on yield goals and knowledge of crop N utilization from the manure, but not all of the nutrients in the litter are plant available (Sims and Wolf, 1994; Marshall et al, 2001).…”