HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Adams, P. L. Articles by Edwards, D. R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Adams, P. L. Articles by Edwards, D. R. Agricola Articles by Adams, P. L. Articles by Edwards, D. R.

Poultry Litter and Manure Contributions to Nitrate Leaching through the Vadose Zone

Dep. of Agronomy, 115 Plant Sciences Building

D. R. Edwards

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Dep., 203 Engineering Hall, Univ. of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701

*Corresponding author (tdaniel{at}uafsysb.uark.edu).

ABSTRACT

Pastures are commonly fertilized with poultry litter or manure in northwestern Arkansas. We hypothesized that this practice may enhance NO₃-N movement to groundwater and wanted to ascertain the likelihood of common application rates causing excessive NO₃-N leaching. Our objective was to determine the effect of application rate of poultry litter or manure on NO₃-N concentration in vadose water under fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) plots as a function of depth and time. In August 1991, poultry litter was applied at 0 (control), 10 (PL10), and 20 Mg ha^–1 (PL20) and poultry manure at 17.7 Mg ha^–1 (PM20). In June 1992, we applied an additional 4.5 Mg ha^–1 litter (PL5) to the PL10 plots and 3.8 Mg ha^–1 manure (PM5) to PM20 plots. Pan lysimeters at the 60-cm depth and suction-cup lysimeters at 60 and 120 cm sampled soil water. The PL10, PL20, and PM20 treatments produced NO₃-N concentrations as high as 13, 54, and 41 mg L^–1 at 60 cm. At 120 cm, NO₃-N reached 8, 24, and 37 mg L^–1 for the PL10, PL20, and PM20 treatments. In 1992, the PL5 and PM5 treatments produced NO₃-N concentrations <1 mg L^–1 at the 60- and 120-cm depths. The recommended litter application rate in Arkansas is not more than 11.2 Mg ha^–1 yr^–1, split in two 5.6 Mg ha^–1 applications. The PL10 and PL5 rates (similar to a maximum full-year application plus a single split application) did not result in NO₃-N concentrations above the drinking water standard (10 mg L^–1) at the 120-cm depth.

Published with the approval of the director of the Arkansas Agric. Exp. Stn.

Received for publication September 24, 1993.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. S. Stoddard, J. H. Grove, M. S. Coyne, and W. O. Thom Fertilizer, Tillage, and Dairy Manure Contributions to Nitrate and Herbicide Leaching J. Environ. Qual., July 5, 2005; 34(4): 1354 - 1362. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]