Biosolids and Dairy Manure as Nitrogen Sources for Prairiegrass
on a Poorly Drained Soil
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D.M. Sullivan, S.C. Fransen, C.G. Cogger, and A.I. Bary
Accurate prediction of plant-available N release from municipal and agricultural byproducts is needed to optimize crop yields and minimize nitrate leached to groundwater. We conducted a 4-yr study to determine plant-available N release from two byproducts: dewatered biosolids (stabilized solids from municipal wastewater treatment) and dairy manure. The Buckley loam soil (fine-loamy, mixed, nonacid, mesic Typic Humaquepts) at our study site had a perched water table 0 to 24 in. below the surface from mid-November through mid-May. Biosolids and manure were surface-applied to established prairiegrass [Bromus unioloides (Willd.) H.B.K. cv. Grasslands Matua; syn. B. willdenowii Kunth] for 2 yr (1991-1992). Plant-available N released from biosolids or manure was measured for two additional years (1993-1994) after we terminated application. Cumulative apparent N recovered by grass harvest for 1991, 1992, and 1993 was 77, 74, and 65% for urea; 27, 29, and 38% for biosolids; and 17, 28, and 36% for manure. Biosolids or manure applied in 1991-1992 increased soil nitrate recovered after a summer of chemical fallow in 1994. The additional nitrate recovered in 1994 represented approximately 6% of the biosolids or manure N applied in 1991-1992. Our study demonstrated increased soil N mineralization rates following 2 yr of biosolids or manure application. Farm management plans for biosolids and manure use must account for the residual effects of previous applications.
Sullivan, D.M., S.C. Fransen, C.G. Cogger, and A.I. Bary. 1997. Biosolids and dairy manure as nitrogen sources for prairiegrass on a poorly drained soil. J. Prod. Agric. 10:589-596. [refereed journal]