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Make Hayst, Not Waste
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Geneticists Gary Pederson
(left) and Dennis Rowe plant
Bermuda grass sprigs. After
the grass is grown in the
greenhouse, it will be
replanted and tested for
nutrient uptake in the field.
(K9300-1)
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Hayfields and pastures in the
southeastern United States are often fertilized with animal waste such as
poultry litter and swine effluent. Farmers apply these wastes because they're
effective, low-cost fertilizers.
But a buildup of nutrients—including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium,
copper, and zinc—can occur because the waste is sometimes applied in
amounts greater than needed. When these nutrients accumulate in soils, they can
cause environmental problems. For example, phosphorus and some forms of
nitrogen move rapidly through the soil and can contaminate ground and surface
waters.
ARS plant geneticists Dennis E. Rowe and
Gary A. Pederson, along with colleagues in ARS' Waste Management and Forage
Research Unit, Mississippi State, Mississippi, have been looking for ways to
maximize the uptake of nutrients by forage plants grown for hay. Focusing on
annual ryegrass, red clover, and Bermuda grass, they've found that over half of
all the animal waste nutrients taken up by forage plants concentrates in their
stems or runners. |
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Bermuda grass.
(K9301-1)
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"Since most phosphorus in
forages is located in stems and runners, managing upright forages such as
annual ryegrass to maximize stem production should also maximize removal of
this nutrient from the soil," says Pederson.
"Selection of the proper species also helps to maximize nutrient removal,
since forages differ in their concentration and uptake of major nutrients and
metals," he adds. About 25 percent of all phosphorus in a harvest is
contained in the leaves.
Forages are typically managed in several ways. They may be used in rotational
or continuous grazing systems, for making hay to use as feed during winter or
times of drought, or for processing into silage. Managing the forage for hay
production not only removes excess nutrients from the soil, but also provides
the farmer with another source of income when the hay is sold. While making
forage into silage also removes nutrients from the soil, the product is more
difficult than hay to transport.
The application of animal waste to farm fields varies from region to region.
"Production of poultry and cattle on the same farm works well since the
animal waste from poultry can serve as fertilizer for pastures grazed by cows
and calves," says Pederson. "As poultry production increased in the
Southeast, numbers of beef cattle also increased," he adds. Farmers in the
Midwest apply animal waste to row crops, such as corn.
The scientists found that the species of forage influences the levels of
nutrient concentration and retention. The amount of nutrients also increases as
the plant ages.
"The older the plant, the greater the amount of nutrients it contains,
until it peaks at full maturity," says Pederson. "This age-induced
increase in nutrient content is due to an increase in total dry matter."
However, frequent cuttings of immature plants maximizes nutrient removal
because fast-growing plants remove more nutrients than slower growing, mature
plants do.
These findings suggest that managing forage plants for growth and maturity and
then harvesting them as hay for selling off-farm would maximize nutrient
removal and lessen the impact of excess nutrients on the environment.—By
Jesús
García, Agricultural Research Service Information Staff.
This research is part of Rangeland, Pasture, and Forages (#205), and Manure
and Byproduct Utilization (#206), two ARS National Programs described on the
World Wide Web at http://www.nps.ars.usda.gov.
Gary A. Pederson is in the
USDA-ARS Waste
Management and Forage Research Unit, 810 Highway 12E, Mississippi State, MS
39762; phone (662) 320-7464, fax (662) 320-7544. |
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"Make Hayst, Not Waste" was
published in the May
2001 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
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