ARS | Publication request: Effectiveness of Recovered Manure Phosphorus as Plant Fertilizer

Submitted to: Recycling of Agricultural Municipal and Industrial Residues
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: February 15, 2009
Publication Date: March 11, 2009
Citation: Szogi, A.A., Vanotti, M.B., Bauer, P.J. 2009. Effectiveness of Recovered Manure Phosphorus as Plant Fertilizer. In: Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Management of Animal Residuals, March 11-13, 2009, Florianopolis, Brazil. p. 133-136.

Technical Abstract: Phosphorus (P) was recovered from liquid swine manure and poultry litter using new advanced treatment manure processes developed to recover this nutrient from manure. The high P concentration in the recovered P materials indicates that they likely have use as plant fertilizers. A study was conducted under greenhouse conditions to evaluate the agronomic effectiveness of these materials. Recovered P materials from swine manure (RPSM) and broiler litter (RPPL) were compared to commercial triple super phosphate (TSP) using annual ryegrass as the test crop. Treatments were three fertilizer sources and five fertilizer rates (0, 22, 44, 88, and 176 mg P/kg soil). Plant tissues were harvested three times, oven-dried, and acid digested. Soil collected at the end the trial was extracted using the Mehlich III procedure. Both plant tissue digest and soil extracts were analyzed for P using colorimetric analysis. Plants fertilized with P recovered from swine manure or broiler litter had biomass production similar to TSP but lower P uptake. Soil P tests indicated lower P concentrations for RPPL than for RPSM or TSP. This lower extractable soil P response of RPPL points to possible use as slow release P fertilizer. Further research under field plot conditions and on various soil types will provide necessary data for fertilizer application recommendation.