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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » National Sedimentation Laboratory » Water Quality and Ecology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #183134
Title: EVALUATION OF BROILER LITTER AS A NITROGEN SOURCE FOR COTTON IN MISSISSIPPI UPLANDS

Author
item Cullum, Robert
item JOHNSON, JOSEPH - MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIV

Submitted to: ASAE Annual International Meeting
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/25/2005
Publication Date: 7/30/2005
Citation: Cullum, R.F., Johnson, J. 2005. Evaluation of broiler litter as a nitrogen source for cotton in Mississippi Uplands. Proceedings ASAE Annual International Meeting, ASAE Paper No. 052149, pp. 1-7. (online at http://asce.frymulti.com).

Interpretive Summary: Broiler chicken producers are skeptical that broiler litter will replace the need for inorganic nitrogen for cotton. In this study, three rates of broiler litter and five rates of inorganic nitrogen were applied to cotton produced on upland silt loam soils in Mississippi. Results suggest broiler litter of four tons per acre provided the needed nitrogen requirement for cotton produced on these soils. These results will be useful to extension personnel, action agencies involved in water quality planning, and to farmers who plan to substitute broiler litter for inorganic nitrogen application on cotton.

Technical Abstract: Mississippi broiler industry produces about one million metric tons of broiler litter annually. Producers are responsible for disposing of the litter in an environmentally safe manner. Most of the litter is disposed of through land application that must comply with federal, state and local laws. The upland soils of Mississippi need annual applications of N, P, and K for cotton production. A two-year study was conducted comparing broiler litter with inorganic nitrogen at the North Mississippi Branch Station. The soils were silty loam having less than one-percent organic matter. Nitrogen rates of 0, 33, 66, 99, and 132 kg/ha and litter rates of 4.5, 9, 13.4 t/ha were compared in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Results suggest that broiler litter of 9 t/ha provided the needed nitrogen requirement for cotton production in the silt loam soils of north central Mississippi.