WOOSTER, Ohio Poultiy is
big business in Ohio the state
ranks first in the nation in egg pro
duction alone.
That also means Ohio ranks
pretty high in something else, too
the production of poultry litter.
Farmers need a safe, economical
way to put that material use.
Researchers from the Ohio
Agricultural Research and Devel
opment Center, including Warren
Dick in the School of Natural Re
sources and agronomists Jay John
son and Donald Eckert, are
searching for environmentally
sound ways to use it on the farm.
Poultry litter a mixture of
manure and bedding material
contains significant amounts of
nutrients that are essential for
plant growth. The nutrients found
in poultry litter are the same as
those found in commercial ferti
lizers. Most important are the ma
cronutrients nitrogen, phosphorus
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GETTYSBURG, PA - 717-624-3331 • PHILLIPSBURG, NJ ■ 908-454-7900
Poultry Litter Could Be Fertilizer Alternative
and potassium. These nutrients,
however, may not be present in
the same ratio as needed in a ferti
lizer program for crops.
The chemical composition of
poultry litter and soil factors can
both influence the amount of nu
trients released and the rate at
which they are released. “In gen
eral, net nitrogen mineral release
seems to be more rapid from fresh
poultry litter applied to coarser
textured soils than from aged or
composted litter applied to fine
textured soils," Dick said.
There are several possible poul
try litter application strategies.
“One is to apply litter so soil will
receive the desired amounts of
phosphorus, and then add com
mercial potassium and nitrogen
fertilizers as needed," Dick said.
“Another method is to apply
enough litter so that the proper
amount of nitrogen will be re
leased into the soil. The second
/w)h/IM ltt£wneft? W/ffFU/FRf.)s. 800-447-7436
" Mk, MORTON
www. - BUILDINGS
method increases the risk of over
supplying phosphorus and potas
sium and that could be adverse
ly affect soil and water quality."
The best method to determine
the appropriate rate of application
of poultry litter is to have it tested
in a soil testing laboratory. The
amount of nutrient per unit vol
ume of litter can be calculated
from the nutrient and moisture
content of the sample. "
The nutrients in poultry litter
depend upon the type of bedding
that was used and the feed source.
For example, calcium supple
ments are fed to egg layers. These
supplements increase the pH in
the litter, and in turn, increase the
potential for nitrogen to be lost as
ammonia gas.
Dick recommends farmers de
velop a field priority system to
maximize the nutrient value of the
litter. The system should be based
on fields that require larger
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amounts of nitrogen for crop
growth, those that have the lowest
phosphorus and potassium soil
tests, and those that will benefit
from organic amendments added
to the soil.
“The time of application is ex
tremely important,” Dick said. “A
fall application will allow the litter
to decompose and release nu
trients for the next year’s crop. On
the other hand, fall applications
also provide the greatest potential
for nitrogen and other soluble nu
trients to be lost by leaching and
denitrification. Spring applica
tions may interfere with other
types of farm applications."
If possible, the litter should be
tilled into the soil immediately af
ter application to avoid gaseous
losses of nitrogen and runoff of
other nutrients. “This is especially
important for egg layer litter
which has a high pH."
For no-tillage crop production.
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Dick said it may be passible to tiy
timing applications just before a
rainstorm, or use subsurface
placement to apply the litter. Buf
fer strips may need to be used to
protect surface waters when the
litter is not tilled into the soil.
The nitrogen in poultry litter is
primarily available the fits year
after its applied. The ammonium
nitrogen and approximately ‘A to
'A of the organic nitrogen will be
available the first year after appli
cation. “Some of the nitrogen may
be lost to leaching, incorporated
into soil organic matter, or will re
main fixed in the soil,” Dick said.
The amount of nitrogen avail
able the second year depends upon
how the crop was grown and the
climatic conditions of the previous
year. “A soil treated once will car
ry over almost no nitrogen the
next year, but soil treated annually
for five or more years may cany
over more than 10 percent of the
applied nitrogen,” Dick said.
Testing the soil is the best way
to determine how much or how lit
tle to use and when or if to use
poultry litter. Bray PI soil-test
phosphorus levels should not be
greater than 30 PAM in the top
eight inches of soil. If the soil tests
exceed this level, special precau
tions should be taken.
“In general, it is best to avoid
litter application rates that add
more phosphorus to soil than is re
moved by the crop," Dick said.
For more information on poul
try litter as a soil amendment, con
tact your local county office of
Ohio State University Extension,
or write to Warren Dick, School of
Natural Resources, Ohio Agricul
tural Research and Development
Center, 1680 Madison Ave.,
Wooster, Ohio 44691.
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