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Title: SEASONAL AND MANAGEMENT IMPACT ON BROILER CAKE NUTRIENT COMPOSITION

Author
item Sistani, Karamat
item ADELI, A - MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIV
item Brink, Geoffrey
item Tewolde, Haile
item Rowe, Dennis

Submitted to: Journal of Sustainable Agriculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/24/2003
Publication Date: 2/1/2004
Citation: Sistani, K.R., Adeli, A., Brink, G.E., Tewolde, H., Rowe, D.E. 2004. Seasonal and management impact on broiler cake nutrient composition. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture. 24:27-37.

Interpretive Summary: As an alternative to chemical fertilizers, broiler manure or broiler "cake", which is a by-product of broiler house cleaning management is applied to pasture and croplands to provide nutrients for plant growth. We initiated a study to characterize the impact of season and broiler grower management on the nutrient content of broiler manure/cake, because cake is produced year-around and applied to land year-around. Broiler manure produced in the winter contained the most nitrogen (4.36%), while manure in summer contained the most phosphorus (1.96%). Broiler manure produced in the spring and summer contained more metal nutrients than fall and winter. Information gained from this study, which are on-farm and site specific will aid regulatory agencies and broiler producers to develop more accurate nutrient management plans.

Technical Abstract: Broiler cake is the by-product of broiler manure management practice (decaking), which is applied directly to pasture or crop lands. We studied the impact of season and producer management on broiler cake nutrient content of three commercial broiler producers. Broiler cake pH ranged from 7.0 in the summer to 8.3 in the winter among all producers. The cake total nitrogen (TN) ranged from 34.8 g kg-1 in the spring to 43.6 g kg-1 in the winter. Broiler cake NH4-N content was 5.78, 6.98, 15.5, and 13.94% of the TN for spring, summer, fall, and winter, respectively. The seasonal averages of total phosphorus were 19.61, 18.73, 17.72, and 17.71 g kg-1 for summer, spring, winter, and fall, respectively. Broiler cake generated in the spring and summer contained more Ca, Mg, K, Cu, Fe, and Mn than in the fall and winter.