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- Title
Agronomic and economic productivity of summer annual forage systems under different poultry litter application methods.
- Authors
Meyer, IvaNelle; Popp, Michael P.; Nieman, Christin C.; Ashworth, Amanda J.; Owens, Phillip R.
- Abstract
Poultry litter (litter) is a nutrient dense fertilizer that increases nutritive value and yield in pastures in the mid‐southern US. Nutrient losses due to runoff and nitrogen volatilization are common when broadcasting litter. As such, incorporating litter below the soil surface (subsurface) was evaluated in comparison to broadcasting in 2021 and 2022 by quantifying yield and nutritive value of annual forages. The study was a randomized complete block design with three forage treatments—sorghum‐sudangrass only (Sorghum bicolor L.), cowpea only (Vigna unguiculata L.), and their mixture, and three litter application methods (broadcast, subsurface, and a no litter control). Litter was applied in 2021 only as biennial application is common to save on application cost. Nutritive analyses included neutral detergent fiber and crude protein (CP). Partial budgeting led to relative profitability estimates by accounting for yield and cost differences across treatments. In comparison to the second‐highest yielding forage mixture, sorghum‐sudangrass yielded 4.5%–18.4% more regardless of litter application method. The forage mixture did not improve forage nutritive value, as cowpea were vastly outcompeted and did not average more than 5% of the total forage harvested in mixtures. Cowpea yields did not benefit from litter application. Subsurface application resulted in 8%–10% greater CP content compared to no litter and broadcast litter, respectively, across all forage species. Sorghum‐sudangrass with subsurface applied litter earned nearly $70/acre more than sorghum‐sudangrass with broadcast litter, the next highest treatment combination, and, with lesser nutrient loss. Plain Language Summary: Poultry litter (litter) is a common fertilizer source for pastures in the mid‐southern US. Broadcast application is common and leads to nutrient losses in runoff and via nitrogen volatilization. Soil incorporation of litter is a solution but costly. At the same time heat stress during summer months may be addressed by sod‐seeding summer annuals in pastures. We evaluated sorghum‐sudangrass, cowpea, and their mixture in pastures fertilized in 2021 using 3 ton/acre of litter that was either broadcast or subsurface applied in comparison to no litter to determine yield and nutritive value results across treatments. Sorghum‐sudangrass had the highest yields regardless of fertilizer treatment. Mixtures did not improve yield nor nutritive value as cowpea were outcompeted. Subsurface litter application enhanced crude protein. Sorghum‐sudangrass with subsurfaced litter was the preferred treatment with highest relative profit over the course of this 2‐yr study under conditions considered excessively droughty.
- Subjects
COWPEA; POULTRY litter; FEED analysis; SORGHUM; CROP yields
- Publication
Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management, 2024, Vol 10, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2374-3832
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1002/cft2.20281