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ARS Home » Midwest Area » West Lafayette, Indiana » National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #139354
Title: EFFECTS OF SWINE MANURE APPLICATION ON BACTERIAL QUALITY OF LEACHATE FROM INTACT SOIL COLUMNS

Author
item Pappas, Elizabeth
item KANWAR, R - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Transactions of the ASAE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/14/2002
Publication Date: 6/1/2003
Citation: WARNEMUENDE, E.A., KANWAR, R. EFFECTS OF SWINE MANURE APPLICATION ON BACTERIAL QUALITY OF LEACHATE FROM INTACT SOIL COLUMNS. TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERS. 2003. 45(6):1849-1857.

Interpretive Summary: Swine manure, which is often applied to crop land as a fertilizer and soil conditioner, is a potential source of groundwater pollution, especially when fecal pathogens are present in the manure. Fecal indicator organisms are used to predict the likelihood of the presence of disease-causing fecal pathogens. In this study, fecal indicator organisms were monitored to track contamination of drainage from soil columns. Soil columns were treated with different manure management regimes in order to identify the best manure management system for protecting groundwater from fecal pollution. It was found that manure application during the fall is less likely to generate contaminated drainage than manure application in the spring, and manure is better applied at 168 kg N/ha than at 336 kg N/ha. The impact of this study contributed to specific manure management recommendations for pork producers. Among these: manure should be injected according to crop requirements in the fall where fecal pathogens are the primary pollutant concern.

Technical Abstract: Excessive application of swine manure on agricultural lands is likely to increase water pollution. Potential impacts of swine manure management on bacterial contamination in subsurface drainage are often difficult to assess in the field. In this study, leachate from intact 20-cm diameter, 30-cm long soil columns receiving simulated fall and spring manure applications at 168 kg N/ha and 336 kg N/ha was analyzed for bacterial densities. The fall soil columns were frozen for 7 weeks between manure application and irrigation. Fecal coliform, Escherichia coli (E. coli), and enterococci densities in leachate from the columns were determined for four weekly irrigation events following manure application. While a positive trend between the manure application rate and bacterial densities in the leachate water was observed, this effect was not generally statistically significant at the 10% level. However, an interaction between the application rate and timing was observed, suggesting that an increase in application rate is more likely to cause greater bacterial contamination in subsurface drainage for spring application than for fall application. Bacterial densities in leachate were most often significantly higher where manure had been applied in the spring at 336 kg N/ha, versus the other manure treatments. Additionally, less bacterial leaching was observed in fall manure-applied columns, as compared to the spring manure-applied columns. Bacterial densities in leachate from fall manure-applied soil columns were significantly lower in comparison with bacterial densities in leachate from the spring manure-applied soil columns at the 10% level during the second, third, and fourth irrigation events.