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Published online 27 October 2006
Published in Soil Sci Soc Am J 70:2146-2153 (2006)
DOI: 10.2136/sssaj2004.0234
© 2006 Soil Science Society of America
677 S. Segoe Rd., Madison, WI 53711 USA
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Nutrient Management & Soil & Plant Analysis

Nutrient Accumulation and Movement from Poultry Litter

Charles C. Mitchella,* and Shuxin Tub

a Auburn Univ., Auburn University, AL 36849-5412
b College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China

* Corresponding author (mitchc1{at}auburn.edu)


   ABSTRACT
TOP
 ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 SUMMARY
 REFERENCES
 
Poultry broiler litter (BL) is widely used as an alternative source of N, P, and K for crops and forages and is often applied at excessive rates of both N and P. Soil samples were periodically collected from experiments with BL at two locations in Alabama, a Coastal Plain site and a Tennessee Valley site, from 1991 though 2000. The objective was to determine the accumulation and movement of plant nutrients and metals in soil profiles when BL is compared with ammonium nitrate (AN) as a source of N for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and corn (Zea mays L.). The Tennessee Valley site was fertilized and cropped for 3 yr, and the Coastal Plain site was fertilized and cropped for 12 yr. The two N sources were applied at rates from 0 to 269 kg N ha–1 based on total N in the material. Incremental soil samples to a depth of 1 m were taken periodically from 1990 through 2000. Broiler litter maintained surface soil pH on the coarse-textured soil at the Coastal Plain site whereas AN resulted in a decline in pH. There were no significant differences in surface soil pH due to source on the finer textured Tennessee Valley site. Application of BL resulted in increasing accumulations of total soil organic C, total N, and Mehlich-1 extractable Ca, Mg, P, K, B, Zn, and Cu as the rates increased from 134 to 269 kg N ha–1 as BL (approximately 4.48–8.96 Mg ha–1 yr–1) over a 10-yr period. While differences in NH4–N and NO3–N were observed to a 1-m depth due to treatment, soil concentrations were very low compared with standards used in the presidedress soil nitrate test for corn (PSNT). No significant accumulations of heavy metals were observed during the experiments.

Abbreviations: AN, ammonium nitrate • BL, broiler litter • PSNT, presidedress soil nitrate test


   INTRODUCTION
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 SUMMARY
 REFERENCES
 
POULTRY BL is the manure and bedding from the production of poultry for meat. Broiler litter is approximately equivalent to a 3–3–2 grade (N-P2O5–K2O) fertilizer (Stephenson et al., 1990; Mitchell and Donald, 1995). In areas of poultry production, BL is widely used as an alternative source of plant nutrients for crops and forages. About 12 million Mg BL were generated in U.S. poultry industry in 1998; most were applied to agricultural land (Finlay-Moore and Cabrera, 2000).

The environmental implications of excessive and continuous applications of BL have received considerable attention. Long-term application of poultry waste will increase levels of soil nutrients. Kingery et al. (1993, 1994) and Robertson et al. (1975) found that extractable soil P, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, and Zn were higher in soils receiving poultry litter than in conventionally fertilized pasture soils. Bagley and Burdine (1996) found a buildup of some nutrients when annual application rates of up to 9 Mg litter ha–1 were applied to certain soils.

Researchers observed that loss of nutrients from BL could be a problem. Cabrera et al. (1993), Cabrera and Chiang (1994), and Brinson et al. (1994) found that ammonia loss from poultry litter ranged from 3.6 to 60%. Recent research on fescue pastures in three southern states in different soil resource areas indicates that volatilization losses may be much less than previously thought. Marshall et al. (1998) measured volatilization losses from BL to be from 1.7 to 6.4% of the total N applied over 6 site-years. This amounted to total N losses of only 3.5 to 10.6 kg N ha–1 yr–1. Where BL was frequently applied at excessive rates to pastures, Kingery et al. (1994) reported significant accumulation of NO3– in the soils near bedrock. Other researchers suggested that nutrients such as Ca, K, Mg, Mn, Cu, and Zn could be high in surface runoff from BL amended fields (Wood et al., 1996).

The objective of this study was to determine the accumulation and movement of plant nutrients and metals in soils from two experiments with BL as a source of N for cotton and corn. Yield data from this experiment is reported by Mitchell and Tu (2005).


   MATERIALS AND METHODS
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 SUMMARY
 REFERENCES
 
In 1990, an experiment began on a Decatur silt loam (fine, kaolinitic, thermic Rhodic Paleudult) in the Tennessee Valley of northern Alabama to evaluate the effect of BL as a source of N for cotton production. This experiment was conducted for 3 yr and terminated. An identical experiment was initiated in 1991 on a Compass fine sandy loam (coarse-loamy, siliceous, subactive, thermic Plinthic Paleudults) in the Coastal Plain of Central Alabama (Table 1). This experiment was continued for 12 yr through the 2002 cropping season. Cotton was produced as an annual crop using conventional tillage at both locations from 1990–1994 (Table 2). This included fall moldboard plowing, disking or chiseling in the spring, and mechanical cultivation. In 1995, the experiment at the Coastal Plain site was modified to include residual BL treatments. Each year plots receiving the prescribed BL treatment were alternated with those in residual BL from the previous year so the residual effect of BL could be evaluated. Plots receiving commercial fertilizers were the same. From 1995–1997 at the Coastal Plain site, corn was produced for grain using conservation tillage (winter rye cover crop killed with herbicide in the spring followed by in-row subsoiling and no mechanical cultivation). Corn was grown for the purpose of evaluating the presidedress soil nitrate test (PSNT) for corn. From 1998 through 2002, conservation tilled/no-tilled cotton was produced on the Coastal Plain site (Table 2).


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  		Table 1. Selected soil properties at the sites of the two experiments.

 

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  		Table 2. Treatments used on cotton and corn at the Tennessee Valley (1990–1992) and Coastal Plain (1991–2001) sites.

 
Total applied N rates were based on standard N recommendations for non-irrigated cotton and corn in Alabama (Adams et al., 1994). No assumptions were made as to the availability of N in BL. Broiler litter was applied just before spring planting based on a total N analysis of the BL each year. No attempt was made to estimate plant available N. Total N as AN was applied in split applications for comparison. Broiler litter applied from 1990 through 2002 contained an average of 3.44% total N, 0.43% NH4–N, 2.02% P (4.62% P2O5), and 2.77% K (3.32% K2O) on a dry matter basis (Mitchell and Tu, 2005). No additional nutrients were applied to the BL treatments. Treatments receiving no N or ammonium nitrate N also received 29.3 kg P ha–1 yr–1 as concentrated superphosphate (20% P) and 56 kg K ha–1 yr–1 as muriate of potash (50% K) at planting. This rate was selected to assure that insufficient P and K would not be yield limiting factors. When BL is applied as a source of N, rates of P and K in excess of that recommended for crop production are usually applied.

Soil samples were collected from selected treatments using a tractor operated hydraulic auger in the fall of 1990, 1991, and 1992 at Tennessee Valley and in 1993 and 2000 at Coastal Plain. Limited resources did not allow sampling every treatment. The selected treatments presented in this paper represent a typical rate of fertilizer N (134 kg N ha–1 as AN) and the highest rate of BL (269 kg N ha–1). This high rate of BL is common in some areas where BL is readily available. Because we had little knowledge of the long-term effects of these treatments on soil nutrients with depth at these sites, we chose the extreme treatments and a single moderate treatment to simplify data presentation. The soil samples were taken at depths of 0 to 5 cm (or 0 to 10 cm), 5 to 20 cm (or 10 to 20 cm), 20 to 40 cm, 40 to 60 cm, 60 to 80 cm, and 80 to 100 cm. In 1995, 1996, and 1997, soil samples were taken at the Coastal Plain site in incremental depths to 40 cm when corn was at the V8 growth state in late May of each year to evaluate the PSNT on corn. The treatments were replicated four times, and each sample was a composite of three subsamples from each plot.

Soil pH was measured using 1:1 soil/water ratio. Soil organic C and N were determined by dry combustion with Leco-CN2000 Analyzer (LECO CORP., St. Joseph, MI). Soil NH4+ and NO3– were measured colorimetrically using BIO-RAD Model 550 Microplate Reader (Bio-rad Laboratories, Hercules, CA) after extraction with 2 M KCl using a 1:5 soil/solution ratio. Calcium, Mg, and K were determined by atomic absorption (PerkinElmer 2380) and orthophosphate-P was determined colorimetrically after extraction using the Mehlich 1 extract (Southern Cooperative Series, 1983). All other elements were determined on the Mehlich 1 extract using emission spectroscopy on an inductively coupled argon plasma (ICAP9000; Thermo Jarrell Ash, Franklin, MA). Data were analyzed using ANOVA and REG procedures using SAS software (SAS, 1993) and reported using standard errors for mean separation.


   RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
SUMMARY
 REFERENCES
 
Soil pH
An attempt was made to maintain a soil pH above 5.8 in the surface soils in all plots such that aluminum toxicity would not be a yield limited factor during these experiments. Therefore, soil pH observations reflect both the treatments effects and the effect of a ground agricultural limestone application in 1997 at the Coastal Plain site. After 6 yr of annual fertilization with AN, we were concerned that low soil pH would begin to limit crop yields at the Coastal Plain site. Therefore, in 1997 we applied 2240 kg ground agricultural limestone ha–1 to the entire site because some of the ammonium nitrate treatments had a soil pH below 5.6. Three treatments are presented in Fig. 1 , the no-N check, the 134 kg N ha–1 as ammonium nitrate and the 269 kg N ha–1 as BL. Values for the other treatments lie within the ranges of values for these three treatments and graphics are easier to follow. Predicted values after 10 yr of treatment can be calculated from the significant relationships presented in Table 3.


Figure 1
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  		Fig. 1. Soil profile distribution of pH from long-term application of broiler litter (BL) and ammonium nitrate (AN) sources of total N for cotton and corn at sites in the Coastal Plain (CP) and Tennessee Valley (TV) of Alabama. Error bars are the SE at each depth for the means of each treatment.

 

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  		Table 3. Simple linear regression equations between some soil properties and rates of N as ammonium nitrate (AN) and poultry broiler litter (BL) in soil samples taken in 2000 at the Coastal Plain site.{dagger}

 
Application of BL increases or maintains soil pH in the upper two soil depths compared with the no-N check treatment (Fig. 1). As expected, long-term application of AN resulted in decreases in soil pH at the Coastal Plain site. Surface soil pH (0–5 cm) by 2000 decreased by 0.1 to 1.0 unit as N rate of AN increased from 67 to 269 kg ha–1. Regression relation analysis showed a simple linear relationship existed between surface soil pH and N rates of AN (Table 3). The 1997 ground limestone application explains the overall increase in soil pH between the 1995 sampling and the 2000 sampling in Fig. 1. At the Tennessee Valley location, there was no significant change in soil pH during the shorter, 3-yr experiment. Kingery et al. (1994) reported that long-term application of BL in pastures in the Sand Mountain region of northern Alabama had caused an increase of approximately 0.5 units over the 0- to 60-cm depth interval. Similar results were reported by Sharpley and Bain (1993) in 12 soils in Oklahoma under hybrid bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) to which litter had been continually applied for 12 to 35 yr. Hue (1992) demonstrated that BL was as effective as Ca(OH)2 in raising the pH of acid Hawaiian soils (Humoxic Tropohumult, Paaloa series). On the other hand, Jackson et al. (1975) reported little or no change in soil pH after application of BL. The observed soil pH change at the Coastal Plain site and the lack of pH change at the Tennessee Valley site is due to the weakly buffered, sandy Coastal Plain soil (CEC = 2.3 cmol kg–1) compared with the Tennessee Valley soil with a higher CEC (9.2 cmol kg–1) and a higher initial soil pH and the longer time period of the experiment at the Coastal Plain site.

Soil Nitrogen and Carbon
Depth distribution of soil N and total C in 2000 at the Coastal Plain location (Fig. 2 ) indicated that application of high rates of BL over a 10-yr period increased organic C and total N to a depth of 20 cm as compared with the no-N check. This was expected. Total N in the surface layer increased 46%, and total C increased 74% at the highest rate of BL application after 10 yr. Both total N and total C are positively related to the rates of N from BL and AN (Table 3).


Figure 2
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  		Fig. 2. Depth distribution of total N and total C after 10 yr of ammonium nitrate (AN) and broiler litter (BL) treatments on a Coastal Plain (CP) site.

 
As expected, application of AN and BL increased soil NH4+–N (Fig. 3 ), especially for AN application at higher rates of N. Application of BL did not always result in significant change in NH4+ compared with the no-N check treatment for example, the no-tilled cotton in Coastal Plain, 2000. This indicated that an increase of soil N by application of BL is primarily in the organic form. No significant regression relationship was found between soil NH4+ and N rates of BL and AN in the two experiments.


Figure 3
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  		Fig. 3. Depth distribution NH4–N from long-term application of broiler litter (BL) and ammonium nitrate (AN) sources of total N for cotton and corn at sites in the Coastal Plain (CP) and Tennessee Valley (TV) of Alabama. Error bars are the SE at each depth for the means of each treatment.

 
In most cases, application of both AN and BL increased the concentration of soil NO3––N in shallower depths. However, due to the difference of soil sampling time, soil types, and precipitation, the pattern of NO3––N variation was different (Fig. 4 and 5) . Except at the Coastal Plain location in 1993 and Tennessee Valley in 1992, the data in other years showed that there is less soil NO3––N from BL than from AN. The results showed that application of BL usually resulted in low NO3––N concentrations in soil profile (upper 1 m). Table 2 indicates a significant linear relationship between soil NO3––N and N rates of BL and AN at the Coastal Plain location. Kingery et al. (1994) reported that there is no significant difference in NO3––N concentration in upper 60-cm soil in pastureland but significant accumulation of NO3––N was found in soils at or near bedrock (3 m) where BL had been applied. Jackson (1998) reported very rapid N leaching from long-term N rate studies on two Alabama Coastal Plain soils where cotton was grown. He found no difference in extractable NO3––N and NH4+–N in the upper 75 cm of soil (1 yr after AN application at rates as high as 168 kg N ha–1). The front of NO3–-N leaching was found at approximately 1.2 m in a Benndale loamy sand (coarse-loamy, siliceous, thermic Typic Paleudults) and 2.0 m in a Lucedale sandy loam (fine-loamy, siliceous, thermic Rhodic Paleudults).


Figure 4
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  		Fig. 4. Depth distribution of NO3–N from long-term application of broiler litter (BL) and ammonium nitrate (AN) sources of total N for cotton and corn the Coastal Plain (CP) site. Error bars are the SE at each depth for the means of each treatment.

 

Figure 5
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  		Fig. 5. Depth distribution of NO3–N from application of broiler litter (BL) and ammonium nitrate (AN) sources of total N for cotton at the Tennessee Valley (TV) site. Error bars are the SE at each depth for the means of each treatment.

 
Presidedress Soil Nitrate Test on Corn (1995 to 1997)
Soil NO3–N concentrations in incremental depths to 40 cm were measured just before sidedressing corn at the V8 growth stage in 1995 through 1997 at the Coastal Plain site (Table 4). There were no significant differences due to depth but there were significant (P < 0.01) variations by year and by treatment. Variations by year under non-irrigated conditions on these soils are expected. Mean soil NO3–N concentrations over all treatments and depths were 6.8 mg kg–1 in 1995, 5.5 mg kg–1 in 1996, and 17.9 mg kg–1 in 1997. In 1997, all treatments including the no-N check had PSNT concentrations that were around three times higher than the previous years' concentrations. Other than a consistent analytical error, the only explanation for this is the fact that the months of April, May, and June in 1997 had nearly twice the recorded rainfall as that recorded in the same months during the previous years. May and June are relatively dry months at this location, but the high rainfall in 1997 (27 cm in May and June) could have resulted in increased biological activity near the soil surface resulting in higher organic N mineralization. Generally, NO3–N concentrations at the V8 growth stage at sidedressing of corn at the Coastal Plain site were <15 mg NO3–N kg–1 to a depth of 40 cm except in 1997. The highest soil NO3–N measured at sidedressing during the 3 yr that corn was produced on this experiment was 30 mg N kg–1 at the 0- to 10-cm depth in 1997 where 202 kg N ha–1 as BL were applied. Mean NO3–N concentrations by treatment are much less than critical values reported by Magdoff et al. (1984), Fox et al. (1989), and Meisinger et al. (1992) using the PSNT in the northeastern USA. These data are consistent with Jackson (1998) who found rapid leaching of N following cotton fertilization on similar Coastal Plain soils in Alabama. The PSNT did not prove to be a useful tool for predicting the need for sidedress N for corn on this sandy, Coastal Plain soil in Central Alabama because soil NO3–N is usually low regardless of N source.


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  		Table 4. Mean soil nitrate concentrations over 3 yr (1995, 1996, and 1997) and three soil depths to 40 cm at the Coastal Plain site.

 
Mehlich-1 Extractable Nutrients
Because of P, K, Ca, and Mg in BL, application of BL resulted in higher concentrations of Mehlich-1 extractable soil P, K, Ca, and Mg compared with the no-N check and the AN applications (Fig. 6 Go Go Go –10 ).


Figure 6
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  		Fig. 6. Depth distribution Mehlich-1 extractable P from long-term application of broiler litter (BL) and ammonium nitrate (AN) sources of total N for cotton and corn at sites in the Coastal Plain (CP) and Tennessee Valley (TV) of Alabama. Error bars are the SE at each depth for the means of each treatment.

 

Figure 7
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  		Fig. 7. Mehlich-1 extractable P and K in surface 10 cm for selected treatments at the Coastal Plain site from 1993 to 2000. Error bars are the standard error of the mean for that observation. Treatments are designated as ammonium nitrate (AN) or broiler litter (BL) followed by the annual total N rate in kg ha–1.

 

Figure 8
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  		Fig. 8. Depth distribution Mehlich-1 extractable K from long-term application of broiler litter (BL) and ammonium nitrate (AN) sources of total N for cotton and corn at sites in the Coastal Plain (CP) and Tennessee Valley (TV) of Alabama. Error bars are the SE at each depth for the means of each treatment.

 

Figure 9
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  		Fig. 9. Depth distribution Mehlich-1 extractable Ca from long-term application of broiler litter (BL) and ammonium nitrate (AN) sources of total N for cotton and corn at sites in the Coastal Plain (CP) and Tennessee Valley (TV) of Alabama. Error bars are the SE at each depth for the means of each treatment.

 

Figure 10
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  		Fig. 10. Depth distribution Mehlich-1 extractable Mg from long-term application of broiler litter (BL) and ammonium nitrate (AN) sources of total N for cotton and corn at sites in the Coastal Plain (CP) and Tennessee Valley (TV) of Alabama. Error bars are the SE at each depth for the means of each treatment.

 
Phosphorus
Accumulation of extractable P was mainly in upper 20 cm of soil. The P concentration increased with time as P application continued over the years (Fig. 6 and 7). At the highest rate of BL (269 kg N ha–1 or approximately 9 Mg ha–1) at the Coastal Plain location, extractable P increased from 25 mg P kg–1 when the experiment began in 1991 to 125 mg P kg–1 in 2000. During this time, a total of 1100 kg P ha–1 were applied as BL. Mullins and Burmester (1990) reported that a well fertilized cotton on this same Coastal Plain site removed an average of 9.1 kg P ha–1 yr–1. This would be only 10% of that applied at the high BL rate over the 12-yr period. Regression analysis showed extractable P in the upper two soil layers (0–5 and 5–20 cm) was significantly related to the rates of BL application (Table 3).

Kingery et al. (1994) found that long-term land application of BL increased soil P concentrations more than six times that of conventionally fertilized soils in the 0- to 60-cm depth). At the highest BL rate at the Coastal Plain site over the 10-yr period, Mehlich-1 extractable P went from a rating of "medium" to a rating of "extremely high" (Adams et al., 1994). Extractable P measurements with depth over time are complicated by the fact that this experiment began as a conventional tillage experiment and was converted to conservation tillage in 1995. However, in-row subsoiling was an annual practice from 1995 through 2002 under conservation tillage. Figure 7 illustrates the dramatic increase in extractable P in the surface 0 to 10 cm over time where BL was applied compared with the no-N check and AN treatments that received an annual application of 30 kg P ha–1. At the Tennessee Valley location over a 3-yr period, Mehlich-1 extractable P increased from 18 to 64 mg P kg–1 at the highest rate of BL, a soil test rating of "medium" to "extremely high." Approximately 470 kg P ha–1 were applied during the 3-yr experiment at the Tennessee Valley site, and 27 kg P ha–1 was removed in the harvested cotton seed.

Potassium
Distribution of extractable K in the soil profile follows a similar pattern as extractable P (Fig. 7 and 8). Although K accumulated in the surface horizons (0–20 cm) at the Coastal Plain location, K leaching became obvious throughout the profile by the end of 10 yr. A significant relationship between Mehlich-1 extractable K and BL rates was also found (Table 3). At the highest rate of BL, 1500 kg K ha–1 were applied during the 10-yr period at the Coastal Plain site and 650 kg K ha–1 were applied over 3 yr at the Tennessee Valley site. Estimated K removal by the harvested crops was 200 kg K ha–1 at the Coastal Plain site over a 10-yr period and 60 kg K ha–1 at the Tennessee Valley site over a 3-yr period. The no-N check treatment and the AN treatments all received the same rate of fertilizer K at both locations.

Calcium and Magnesium
Application of BL resulted in an accumulation of extractable Ca and Mg in surface soil increasing by 28% for Ca and 23% for Mg at the highest BL rate compared with the no-N check. The impact of BL on soil Ca and Mg concentrations was greatest at the 0- to 20-cm depth (Fig. 9 and 10). Similar results were reported by Kingery et al. (1994) in pastures. Long-term application of AN resulted in loss of Ca and Mg in surface soil at the same time that soil pH was decreasing. There was a positive relationship between BL rates and concentration of soil Ca and Mg and a negative relationship between AN and concentration of soil Mg and Ca in the upper two soil layers at the Coastal Plain site (Table 3). This relationship between source of N and Ca and Mg concentration was not significant at the Tennessee Valley site. We think this was due to the much higher CEC and buffering capacity of the Tennessee Valley soil compared with the Coastal Plain soil (Table 1).

Micronutrients and Metals
Mehlich-1 extractable Cu, B, Zn, Fe, Mn, Mo, Na, Si, Pb, Al, Ba, Co, and Cr were analyzed by inductively coupled argon plasma spectroscopy but only Cu, Zn, and B accumulated significantly in BL treated soils to a depth of 20 cm (Table 5). Kingery et al. (1994) found that Cu and Zn accumulated near soil surface of pastures fertilized with BL. The BL used in these experiments over a 13-yr period had an average Cu concentration of 586 mg kg–1. We previously reported that application of BL increased the concentration of B, Zn and Cu in leaves of corn and cotton (Mitchell and Tu, 2005). Boron and Zn are the only micronutrients routinely recommended for cotton and corn in most southeastern USA. In Alabama, 0.34 kg B ha–1 is routinely recommended for all cotton annually and 3.4 kg Zn ha–1 is recommended for corn on sandy soils (Adams et al., 1994). At the highest rate of BL applied (269 kg N ha–1 or about 4 tons BL per acre), about 0.5 kg B ha–1 and 3.8 kg Zn ha–1 are applied.


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  		Table 5. Concentration of Mehlich-1 extractable Cu, Zn, and B at different soil depths from treatments with selected rates of N as broiler litter (BL), ammonium nitrate (AN) and no N at two locations.

 

   SUMMARY
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 SUMMARY
REFERENCES
 
Long-term application of BL as a source of N for cotton and corn effectively maintained or increased soil pH whereas AN resulted in a pH decrease in a Coastal Plain soil. Application of BL increased the soil concentration of C, Ca and Mg in upper soil layers in a Coastal Plain soil. Increases in surface soil concentrations of P, K, NH4+ and NO3– indicate a substantial pool of residual plant nutrients. Significant leaching of K was observed in soil profile of a Coastal Plain soil after 10 yr of BL applications. Copper, Zn and B were the only micronutrients and metals that accumulated in upper soil layers after 10 yr. There was a significant relationship between application rates of BL and AN and variation of pH, P, K, Ca, Mg, C, N, NO3––N. Broiler litter rates had a positive relationship with all the elements that accumulated while AN rates had a negative relationship with pH, Ca and Mg. The PSNT did not prove to be useful tool for predicting the need for sidedress N for corn on a sandy, Coastal Plain soil in Central Alabama. Soil NO3–N was always low at sidedressing regardless of source of N or rate at planting.

Received for publication July 8, 2004.


   REFERENCES
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 SUMMARY
 REFERENCES
 




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