Farmers (Continued from Pago Al 9) exactly how much fertilizer and animal waste is contributing to pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. There were lots of questions, but little data prepared by the study, according to Fox. The study looked at very general models and little input data. So Penn State decided to do their own field stu dies and came up with some startling findings. A special soil profile test reve aled that about 200 pounds per acre of nitrogen was left in the soil pro file that could eventually be leach ing, according to the report. What the researchers found out was that, the more nitrogen fertilizer applied, the more leached into the ground. Potential source “Heavily manured fields are a potential source of nitrate leach- Dr. Ronald L. Ritter, weed control specialist at the Uni versity of Maryland, talks about new weed control pro ducts at the Mid-Atlantic Til lage Conference Wednesday. POURED SOLID Far Left: 1-Million Gallon Circular Manure Storage Tank Far Right: 2 Silage Pits In-Barn Manure Receiving Pit 300’ Long Manure Pit For Hog Confinement All sizes available round or rectangular Mid-Atlantic Conservation Tilla. Should Consider Environment ing,” said Fox. Safe drinking water standards only allow about 10 parts per million (ppm) of nitrates, and the researchers found as much as 24 ppm in some studies. The nitrogen applied in the fall was carefully tracked. What the researchers found was that some of it denitrified and a great deal of it could not be accounted for. Because of the inadequacy of trying to obtain results of nitate leaching tests using a simpleiabor atory, the researchers took their work outside. In 1988, a special tract of land on Penn State’s agro nomy farm was used. Eighteen 8-foot deep pits were dug up, and plywood boxes were placed and soil was backfilled around them. A four-foot trench was dug out on the sides, and 2-foot by 21 /t -foot stainless steel pans, containing polystyrene beeds, were inserted. The pans were used to collect leached water and test for possible nitrate leaching. Amount applied The results were conclusive: Nitrate leaching occurs and the amount increases with the amount of fertilizer applied to the land. “With manure, you had the nit rogen that could be mineralized after the com harvest,” said Fox. “You can be producing nitrates in the fall that are not used, so it could be actually leaching more with manure than with just straight inor ganic fertilizers.” Fox said that the “take-home message here is that with our best economic nitrogen rate, the 17 Years Experience In Pouring Concrete Manure Pits! Take the questions out of your new construction. Call Balmer Bros, for quality engineered walls. Construction Of Partially In-Ground Liquid Manure Tank - 400,000 Gallons 425,000 Gallons Invest in Quality - It will last a lifetime. CONCRETE WORK, INC. e Con erence amount of nitrates in the leaching water is going to be closer to 20 parts per million than to 10 parts per million.” Fox said the researchers, .-run ning the project for a third year, and are also looking at different models. “We’re looking at much more sophisticated models than they use for the Chesapeake Prog ram, to see if we can be able to pre dict the nitrate leaching in any body’s field,” he said. New chemistry Ronald L. Ritter, weed control specialist with the University of Maryland, pointed out that new herbicides emphasize a new che mistry and less application rates. “I’m sure that many of you are recognizing the fact that we’re not using a whole lot of it,” he said. “A little of it goes a long way.” Richard H. Fox, Field Crop Production Systems, Dept, of Agronomy at Penn State, answers questions about the special nitrate leaching pro ject at the agronomy farm. CONCRETE SYSTEMS Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 15, 1990-A3l -