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TECHNICAL REPORT

Waste Management

Bermudagrass Management in the Southern Piedmont, USA

IX. Trace Elements in Soil with Broiler Litter Application

USDA-ARS, J. Phil Campbell Sr. Natural Resource Conservation Center, 1420 Experiment Station Road, Watkinsville, GA 30677-2373

^* Corresponding author (afranz{at}uga.edu).

Received for publication May 19, 2003. An understanding of the long-term cycling of trace elements in soil with broiler litter fertilization under various forage utilization strategies is needed to develop sustainable agricultural production systems. We evaluated differences in Cu, Mn, Zn, and six other trace elements in response to 5 yr of bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] management varying in fertilization and harvest strategies on a Typic Kanhapludult in Georgia. Chicken (Gallus gallus) broiler litter was a significant source of trace elements that led to 3.4 ± 0.5 times higher Cu, 2.0 ± 0.3 times higher Mn, and 2.1 ± 0.2 times higher Zn in the surface 3 cm of soil than when forage was fertilized inorganically. There were variable effects of broiler litter fertilization on other trace elements, depending upon element, depth of sampling, and forage utilization strategy. Concentrations of all trace elements in soil were below levels considered toxic to plants. Soil at a depth of 0 to 3 cm under grazed paddocks had 33 ± 5% greater Cd, 18 ± 1% greater Cr, 53 ± 24% greater Cu, and 24 ± 7% greater Zn compared with unharvested and hayed management. Trace elements in soil were unaffected whether forage was unharvested or removed as hay. These results suggest that broiler litter is a significant source of several trace elements and that ruminant processing of forage and subsequent deposition of excreta on the paddock allow these trace elements to accumulate more at the soil surface where they might interact with the high concentration of organic matter.

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This Issue in Journal of Environmental Quality

JEQ 2004 33: 413-418. [Full Text]  

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				J. A. Stuedemann and A. J. Franzluebbers Cattle performance and production when grazing Bermudagrass at two forage mass levels in the southern Piedmont J Anim Sci, May 1, 2007; 85(5): 1340 - 1350. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]