ARS | Publication request: Uptake Efficiency of Broiler Litter-Derived Macronutrients by Cotton

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 12, 2006
Publication Date: November 14, 2006
Citation: Tewolde, H., Sistani, K.R., Rowe, D.E., Adeli, A. 2006. Uptake Efficiency of Broiler Litter-Derived Macronutrients by Cotton. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts.

Technical Abstract: Effective management of litter to minimize or prevent the buildup of nutrients to detrimental levels in the soil requires knowledge of the amount of nutrient extracted and removed by harvested crop. This knowledge does not exist or is not well documented when litter is used as a primary cotton fertilizer. A field research was conducted at two locations in Mississippi that represent conventional- and no-till systems to determine the efficiency of cotton in extracting N, P, K, Mg, and Ca derived from broiler litter. End-of-season extraction efficiency of the macronutrients was computed as total extracted amount divided by total applied after accounting for nutrients supplied by the soil reserve. When averaged across all treatments and years, the extraction efficiency of N, P, K, Ca, and Mg, respectively were 44, 17, 47, 43, and 36% of the applied. Rates of applied broiler litter and inorganic N supplied as urea ammonium nitrate solution (UAN) significantly affected the extraction efficiency. Increasing rate of applied litter decreased uptake efficiency while supplemental inorganic N increased extraction efficiency of all macronutrients.