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a 275 South Russell Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907
b 115 Plant Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701
c 203 Engineering Hall, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701
d Waste Management and Forage Research Unit, USDA-ARS, PO Box 5367, Mississippi State, MS 39762-5367
* Corresponding author (drsmith{at}purdue.edu)
Received for publication December 15, 2003.
| ABSTRACT |
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Abbreviations: DRP, dissolved reactive phosphorus HAP, high available phosphorus
| INTRODUCTION |
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Many best management practices have been studied to aid producers in reducing potential P losses where poultry litter is used as a fertilizer resource (Moore et al., 1999; Shreve et al., 1995; Moore and Miller, 1994). Alum [(Al2(SO4)3)·14H2O] applications to poultry litter have been shown to reduce P solubility by as much as 99% (Moore et al., 1999), while soluble P runoff losses from applications of poultry litter amended with alum may be reduced by as much as 87% (Shreve et al., 1995). Other manure amendments have reduced P solubility in poultry litter, but these amendments are not as physicochemically stable as the aluminum phosphates formed following the addition of alum (Moore and Miller, 1994).
Another potential best management practice is reducing the total amount of P in poultry feeds. Phosphorus supplementation is required in poultry rations, because most grains store between 80 and 90% of their P as phytate (Kornegay, 1996; Turner et al., 2002). Phytate-bound P is relatively stable, and not readily absorbed by poultry. Nutritionists therefore use supplemental P to adjust rations to meet dietary P requirements. Phytase is an enzyme that cleaves the P from the phytate molecule, and increases potential P bioavailability (Kies, 1996). The advantages of phytase supplementation in diets have been recognized for some time (Nelson et al., 1968; Nelson et al., 1971). High available phosphorus (HAP) corn are varieties that have been selected for their ability to store P in forms more bioavailable than phytate (Raboy, 2002).
Studies have shown that dietary modification treatments significantly reduce total P in litter, and may reduce litter soluble P. However, dietary modification with phytase may increase P runoff from pasture-applied litter (DeLaune et al., 2001) and also from land-applied swine manure (Smith et al., 2004b). In one study, a 100% increase in P concentrations in runoff occurred when phytase was used alone (DeLaune et al., 2001). It is likely that dietary modification may increase potential soluble P losses because the enzyme is used to solubilize P from an insoluble form, with the intent of increasing the amount of bioavailable P (for animal absorption) (Turner et al., 2002). Phytase does hold many other potential benefits, including increased availability of other nutrients, such as Ca and Zn, as well as reducing the P supplementation requirements in the diets (Kornegay et al., 1996).
The objectives of this study were to (i) compare the effects of dietary modification (phytase and HAP corn) and alum applications to poultry litter on P concentrations in litter and runoff waters and (ii) determine if diet modification and manure amendments combined could reduce P concentrations in runoff water.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Litter from the bulk sample was applied to plots cropped to tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) at a rate equivalent to 8.97 Mg ha1. The plots were established in 1998 on a Captina silt loam soil (fine-silty, siliceous, active, mesic Typic Fragiudult) with a 5% slope at the University of Arkansas main agricultural farm in Fayetteville. Litter treatments were applied to plots on an average soil test phosphorus (STP) of approximately 199 mg Mehlich-III P kg1 soil (Table 2). On Days 1, 8, and 15 after litter application, rainfall simulations were conducted at a rate equivalent to 50 mm h1. Discrete samples were collected every 5 min for 30 min following the onset of continuous runoff. A flow-weighted composite sample was formed from the discrete samples from each plot. Runoff pH and electrical conductivity were measured on an aliquot of the composite sample. An aliquot of the composite sample was filtered through a 0.45-µm membrane filter, acidified to pH 2 with concentrated HCl, and analyzed for dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) using the methods described above. Total P and total metals were analyzed from unfiltered runoff samples after digestion with APHA Method 3030E with ICAP spectrophotometry (American Public Health Association, 1992).
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Phosphorus concentrations in runoff were log-normally distributed. Therefore, these concentrations were logarithmically transformed. Since many runoff P concentrations were <1.0 mg P L1, the value 1 was added to all P concentrations before logarithmic transformation, so that all values obtained would be positive (Neter et al., 1996). Statistics were performed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) procedures in SAS, with means separated at the 0.05 level using Fisher's protected LSD (SAS Institute, 1985).
| RESULTS AND DISCUSSION |
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Normal and phytase diet poultry litter treated with alum had DRP levels similar to the untreated control litter (no alum) from birds fed the HAP corn and HAP corn + phytase diets; alum treatment of poultry litters reduced DRP content by 47%. These data suggest that using phytase and HAP corn may be as effective as using alum treatment alone to reduce litter DRP content. Within a given diet treatment, alum-treated litter contained significantly less DRP compared with litter from the same diet treatment without alum additions, indicating that a synergy exists between dietary modification and manure amendment treatments. All three treatments (phytase, HAP corn, and alum) together reduced litter DRP to 206 mg P kg1 litter, a 74% reduction compared with untreated control litter from a normal diet.
Phosphorus Concentrations in Runoff Water
The effect of dietary modification and litter treatment on the pH and electrical conductivity of runoff water was not substantial, although application of any poultry litter generally increased both pH and conductivity. However, P concentrations in runoff waters were significantly different among treatments of dietary modification and alum. Runoff DRP concentrations were reduced by both dietary modification and litter treatment with alum (Fig. 2)
. Phosphorus reductions in runoff water resulting from dietary modification or alum treatments were greatest during the first rainfall simulation (Fig. 2A). All three dietary modification treatments (phytase, HAP corn, and HAP corn + phytase) without alum reduced runoff water DRP concentrations by approximately 45% compared with plots fertilized with normal diet litter without alum. These results contradict three previous studies that reported either no significant difference (Smith et al., 2004b; Moore et al., 1998) or significant increases in P runoff by as much as 100% due to incorporation of phytase into diets (DeLaune et al., 2001).
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Data from the first rainfall simulation following manure application are important, because they indicate what may occur in a worst case scenario, where a runoff event occurs immediately following litter application. Results of the first rainfall simulation in this study indicate that any of these best management practices can significantly reduce P losses to surface water bodies compared with normal diet litter without alum treatment. It is also important to note that when best management practices were paired, particularly diet treatments with alum, there were generally marked reductions in runoff water DRP concentrations. Similar results have been noted for swine manure treated with phytase and aluminum chloride (Smith et al., 2004b). In addition, combinations of these best management practices may reduce other environmental or nuisance problems, such as NH3 volatilization (Moore et al., 1999; Smith et al., 2004a). Litter applications also affect runoff water quality for some time following litter application (DeLaune and Moore, 2001).
Results from the second and third rainfall simulation studies were similar to the first; however, the magnitude of the differences was not as great for the latter events when compared with the first event. When comparing mean DRP content of runoff water from all three rainfall events, the only significant reductions tended to be between alum and no-alum treatments (Fig. 2B). There were no significant differences between mean DRP concentrations between diets within a given alum treatment. Alum alone reduced overall DRP levels in runoff waters from 5.6 mg P L1 for the normal diet without alum treatment to 2.75 mg P L1, while there were 58 and 61% reductions with HAP corn diets with alum and HAP corn + phytase with alum. Runoff water DRP levels from plots receiving litter containing HAP corn and alum were not statistically different from unfertilized control plots when comparing the means from all three runoff events.
The variation in total P concentrations in runoff waters between treatments was very similar to that observed in the soluble P fraction. The greatest reduction in total P loss occurred when alum was used with phytase and HAP corn, although the reduction was not as great as that observed in the soluble fraction. The soluble fraction dominated total P loss from the small plots accounting for 96% of total P (y = 0.96X 0.47; R2 = 0.98). These data are consistent with results from Edwards and Daniel (1992), where approximately 80 to 90% of the total P was in the soluble form, and many other plot studies show similar results.
Several factors were investigated to see if they were related to P concentration in runoff water from small plots, including litter dissolved P, litter total P, soil test P, and runoff pH. The amount of dissolved P in the poultry litter explained the greatest amount of variation in runoff DRP concentrations (R2 = 0.72). Soil test P had little effect on runoff DRP concentration when poultry litter was applied, which is consistent with other studies (DeLaune and Moore, 2001; Smith et al., 2004a, 2004b). This was most likely because the P loss in runoff water was overwhelmed by the amount of P surface-applied in litter. Interestingly, pH of runoff waters explained a greater portion of the variability in runoff DRP concentration than soil test P in plots or total P in the litter applied to plots. The greatest effect on runoff total P concentrations was also due to litter DRP (Table 3). Since runoff DRP and runoff total P were strongly correlated, this would be expected; however, there was a slight reduction in the correlation coefficient. Soil test P accounted for 14% of the variation in total P concentrations in runoff waters. This indicates that the differences in total and dissolved P in runoff could be due to the small amount of particulate losses. Sediment loss in runoff from all plots was minimal, indicating that the bulk of total P not in the soluble form was probably from an organic source.
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Litter applications to plots significantly increased the total P uptake in forage compared with unfertilized plots. There was 19% more P removed from soil by the plots fertilized with normal diet litter than plots receiving HAP corn + phytase diet litter (2.2 kg ha1 for normal diet and 1.86 kg ha1 for HAP corn + phytase diet). The most likely culprit in the increased P uptake from this treatment is due to increased level of N fertilization from the normal diet litter, probably resulting in increased plant vigor.
| CONCLUSIONS |
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During the first rainfall simulation, DRP was reduced by approximately 45% with phytase, HAP corn, and HAP corn + phytase. Litter treatment with alum and no dietary modification reduced P runoff by 60%, while use of all three treatments resulted in 5.6 mg P L1 runoff, a 69% reduction. Dissolved P in poultry litter applied to plots was the most important factor in determining P runoff.
Forage dry matter yield and P uptake were significantly higher when litter was applied to plots cropped to tall fescue. Alum resulted in elevated dry matter yield but reduced P concentration in forage, resulting in numerically higher total P uptake. Utilization of dietary modification resulted in slightly reduced yield and P uptake levels. Fertilization with HAP corn + phytase diet litter resulted in significantly less total P uptake than fertilization with the normal diet.
Data from this study indicate that both dietary modification and manure amendments may be able to reduce potential losses of P from pastures where poultry litter is applied for fertilization. When used together, dietary manipulation with phytase and/or HAP corn and treatment of litter with alum can significantly reduce P lost in runoff waters. These treatments may help producers in watersheds where P losses have already caused problems associated with eutrophication. These treatments should be tested on a whole-farm or watershed scale basis to determine the effects on surface water quality and to ensure they are economically feasible. Furthermore, research needs to be conducted to adjust P levels in diets to balance animal productivity and environmental quality.
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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| NOTES |
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| REFERENCES |
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