Zonejection: Conservation Tillage Manure Nutrient Delivery System

Abstract

Manure application in minimum till (MT) systems is a challenge worthy of attention because residue cover is a keystone for environmental protection. To develop a system combining zone tillage and manure application into one operation (zonejection), two experiments were conducted. In Exp. 1, liquid swine manure (LSM) was applied in fall or spring for two site years (A, B). In Exp. 2, LSM was zone-applied either all preplant (PP) or split between preplant and sidedress (SP) for three site years (C, D, E). In both experiments, dietrich (DMI), vibro shank (VS), or subsurface deposition (SSD) applied the LSM, corn (Zea mays L.) was seeded in the manured zone, and NO 3 -N movement was monitored. Nutrients were supplied by inorganic fertilizer (IF) in control treatments under conventional till (CT), no till (NT), and zone till (ZT). With fall-applied LSM, aft er a mild winter, more N was lost from the soil-plant system (i.e., 35 kg ha −1 soil NO 3 -N) than aft er a cold winter with snow cover (18 kg ha −1 ), and corn grain yield was reduced (by 1.2 Mg ha −1 ), even though supplemental fertilizer N was sidedressed. In Exp. 2, with LSM zoned all PP or SP, grain yield and N use effi ciency were comparable to that with IF, except when double the crop N requirement was zoned all PP (Site D). Planting into a zone of concentrated LSM (3.4 S m −1 ) reduced grain yield when the LSM was injected by VS. With careful management, zonejection allows effi cient utilization of manure nutrients while preserving residue cover.

Nutrient Runoff Losses from Liquid Dairy Manure Applied with Low‐Disturbance Methods

“…The sweep placed manure 8 to 16 cm below the surface. This treatment, similar to a system termed “zonejection” (Ball‐Coelho et al, 2009), was intended to provide a system like the strip‐tillage, or zone‐tillage, operation used by cash crop corn growers that would allow livestock producers to incorporate manure. Corn was planted directly into the ridge the following spring without additional tillage.…”

“…A variation on standard injection is a technique that combines manure application by injection with zone‐ or strip‐tillage, a system termed “zonejection” by Ball Coelho et al (2009). In this system, a sweep injector is followed by paired disks or coulters to cover any surface manure and create a ridge that serves as a raised seedbed that is warmer and drier while leaving crop residue between the ridges for erosion control.…”

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

“…The reason fall or winter application of manures is as effective as spring application in regions with cold fall and winter is likely because mineralization and subsequent loss of manure N is suppressed or inhibited after application and before planting. Equal corn grain yield from fall‐applied as spring‐applied liquid swine manure at a site in southwestern Ontario, Canada, was attributed to consistently colder, snowier winter months and fewer thawing temperatures than a site where fall application reduced grain yield relative to spring application (Coelho et al, 2009).…”