Agronomic effects of multi-year surface-banding of dairy slurry on grass.
Sleigh-foot application of slurry manure is the best method for applying slurry manure on many forage fields. This study was designed to assess agronomic effectiveness of multi-year surface banding of dairy slurry on a sward of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.). Our study showed that with this application technology, crop recovery of total-N from applied manure in the long-term is only about 77% that of mineral fertilizer. Despite relative inefficiency of N uptake from manure, yield response to manure equaled that to fertilizer at equivalent total-N rates although N-recovery was significantly lower. About 26-32% of applied manure-N was stored in soil organic matter and the buildup of soil-N was related to application rate of organic N. At moderate applications rates (approx. 400 kg Nha(-1)a(-1)), soil N accumulated at about 120 kg ha(-1) annually compared to 98 kg ha(-1)a(-1) of unaccounted N, much of that probably volatilized and denitrified. Alternating between manure and fertilizer improved productivity per unit land area without increasing the rate of N non-recovery per unit of feed produced.
Bittman
S
S
Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agassiz, BC, Canada. bittmans@agr.gc.ca
Kowalenko
C G
CG
Forge
T
T
Hunt
D E
DE
Bounaix
F
F
Patni
N
N
D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D003612:Dairying; D005308:Fertilizers; D031751:Festuca / Q000378:metabolism*; D013997:Time Factors; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*
D005308:Fertilizers